Hide & Seek
by encre d'esprit
Summary: The team is summoned to Seattle to focus on a series of murders. When one girl survives, the team learns the unsub was focusing on her all along. Will Reid start to develop feelings for the survivor?
1. Jump Case

**Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I don't own Criminal Minds.**

**The first two chapters are very short, the next ones will be longer. Reviews and advice would be appreciated!**

"Everyone meet me in the boardroom in ten minutes." Aaron Hotchner advised as he walked briskly through the bullpen of the BAU. The look on his face had been more stern than usual, but before anyone could ask any questions he was out of sight.

Prentiss and Reid exchanged a confused look as Morgan stood up from his desk,

"Now what can this be about? We were having a nice, slow afternoon and now this?" He complained in a gruff tone. He was looking forward to actually having a weekend off, but after his boss' brisk appearance he had a feeling it wasn't going to happen.

"I don't know, sounds pretty serious…" Reid replied as he stood and picked up his notepad and a pen from his dishevelled desk. "Guess we'd better get in there…"

"There have been six known victims in the past two months. The MO has relatively stayed the same. All victims have been in their twenties to early thirties, all have had dark brown hair, all have been beaten and tortured before being murdered. All victims have died because of extreme asphyxiation. I had just received a call from the Captain of the Seattle Police Department. Sorry everyone, but looks like your weekend is ruined. Wheels will be going up in 30, we'll brief more on the plane." Hotch explained as he paced slowly in front of the large projection screen. Only this time there were no pictures, no time for set up. It was a jump case.

"Woah, woah…" Morgan spoke up as he raised his open palms in the air. Hotch stopped grabbing the papers from the large table to look up at him. "If this has been happening for two months, why are they just asking for our help now??"

Hotch shoved the papers into his briefcase as he replied, "They couldn't connect the murders until now. They've been occurring all over Seattle and his team of officers have just come to the conclusion that it may all have been committed by the same unsub."

"How did they figure it out? I mean what's so different about this last victim from the rest?" Reid questioned curiously as everyone began standing up. It was the same question the rest of the team had on their minds.

Hotch looked back to the group as he grabbed the doorknob on the heavy door,

"Because this one survived…"


	2. Keep a Secret

**Disclaimer: Same as usual.**

**Sorry for the short chapter again, next will be longer I promise!**

"Detective Morris, these are SAs Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi, and Jareau and Dr. Reid." Hotchner wasted no time in introductions as they stepped into Police Headquarters. The team gave a brief greeting to the worn looking man with a moustache.

"Thanks for coming so quickly, we really appreciate it. Somehow this last attack leaked to the news and it's starting to stir up a lot of people…"

"It's no problem at all, we're glad to help." Hotchner replied. He looked around the busy office, then back at the detective, "Is there anywhere we could set up? And about word leaking out, we have one of the best media liaisons on our team. JJ," Hotch turned to the blonde behind him, "Could you see what you can do to try and calm everyone down? Try not to mention that the last person attacked is in the hospital, don't release any details just yet…"

Jennifer Jareau nodded and quickly walked away after being introduced to another detective. He was ordered by Morris to accompany her needs and show her where to set up.

"I know I shouldn't second guess you guys, but is there a reason not to mention the last victim has survived? Don't you think it would provide some relief in the people?" Morris asked suspiciously as he led the rest of the team down a short hallway towards a small conference room.

"Actually, after we looked at the details of each murder on the plane, we have a slight idea what we might be dealing with. We're just taking precautions… We obviously need to look into it more, talk to the woman in the hospital, determine if there's a motive behind any of this, oh and do you have a wall or large whiteboard? It helps if you-" Reid rambled on after they had entered the room until Morgan cut him off.

"What he's trying to say is that until we know more about this guy, we'd like to keep the fact that the last victim survived quiet. If the unsub finds out she survived, we don't want to risk him snapping or trying to get back to unfinished business."

Morris nodded and attempted to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat at the thought. "Ok, I'll let you guys set up, you let me know if you need anything. I'll find some men to take you to the scenes of the crime." With a nod of thanks from Hotchner, the detective left, closing the door behind him.

"Ok, Prentiss, if you could talk to the officers who were on the scene of the last attack. Find out everything they know when they were called." Prentiss nodded at Hotch's order and grabbed the file from her bag before leaving the boardroom. "Rossi and I will go to the crime scenes, Morgan and Reid, you go to the hospital to speak to Dani Lereux. See if she'll give you any details of the attack. Any information will help us put a profile together."


	3. Unknown Surprises

**Much thanks to **_**poisonlacecookies**_** and **_**Sue1313**_** for the reviews so far! The comments really push me to write more! **

**Disclaimer: Characters of Criminal Minds, not mine. Characters original and new are mine to use! :D**

"First victim… She was dumped on the side of the road like a rag doll just on the outskirts of the city… Most likely strangled by some kind of rope," Rossi began talking out loud as he and Hotch rode in the police cruiser to the next crime scene. "Second victim was found in a back alley, this time a shoelace was used and it was left wrapped around the neck. Both had severe slashes over their torsos and bruises that were visible on their face and upper body."

"The bruises were visible enough that the autopsy reported physical abuse at least an hour before the victim died." Hotchner added, interrupting Rossi's verbal thoughts. The detective driving pulled the cruiser over suddenly and motioned for them to follow him out of the car. They had arrived at the fourth crime scene.

"Right. Third victim, showed signs of defence, there are finger marks on her neck from the unsub trying to strangle her by hand. Then, ultimately, he had used the victim's own belt to finish her off. This one had been more personal by use of the hands in the asphyxiation." Rossi had continued as the detective led the two into a large parking garage. They were at a police warehouse where hot cars and vehicles kept for evidence were held. Hotch looked at the detective in confusion, but the detective unlocked the door and let the other men in.

"This one gets interesting. Found in her own car, just south of 104th street. Was parked in a back alley, doors were all closed, keys still in the ignition. It's been dusted for prints and DNA three times over and Crime Scene's come up with nothing. This guy was careful." The young detective explained as he opened the passenger's door for the Special Agents to look for themselves.

"How was the body found?" Rossi demanded, noticing bright stains of blood still very visible on the driver's seat.

"Found obviously on the driver's side… Severe bruising on the neck, broken arm, deep cuts on her upper thighs and chest, a few gashes on her face. Again, it looked like he tried strangling her with his bare hands first, there were fairly prominent hand marks on her neck, but he ended it with a belt, just like the last one. Forensics found small threads of leather in the friction burns on her neck, a very common leather used for belts, we can't narrow it down to get a hit."

Hotchner and Rossi nodded as the detective explained. They looked at each other with slightly worried expressions, "Where's the fifth located?" Hotchner asked as he pulled off the rubber gloves.

"This one was also found in her car, she was in the driver's seat. But this one was left right in the parking lot outside of her apartment." The detective supplied as he shut the door of the car.

"Ok, take us to the car first, then we're going to go to the apartment building…" Hotch advised as the stepped back out into the unnerving sunlight.

………………………….

"We're looking for Dani Lereux, I'm Special Agent Morgan, this is Dr. Reid. I believe Detective Morris may have advised you we were coming?" Derek Morgan asked the nurse at the front counter of the Seattle hospital as he flashed his FBI badge.

"Yes, I'm Mary Luthern, I was here when she was brought in." The heavy nurse replied as she stepped around the large front desk. "She was in pretty bad condition."

Morgan nodded as Reid looked around the main entrance of the hospital, his hands in his pockets. He studied a wall of pictures and readjusted his messenger bag to rest more comfortably across his chest.

"Reid," Morgan suddenly called him back over. "Mrs Luthern says the doctor who was on call yesterday when Dani was brought in is just about off his shift. She's going to take me to him so I can see what happened when she arrived. You go see if you can talk to Dani at all, but don't be all… 'Reid' about it. Be sympathetic, she was just attacked. You have to gain her trust before you go blasting her with questions."

Reid frowned at Morgan's lack of faith in his personal skills. He knew he wasn't the most sociable person, and maybe he wasn't the best at speaking with victims. It was usually Prentiss or JJ, even Morgan had a soft spot and calming voice. But Reid nodded anyways and walked down the brightly lit hallway in the direction the nurse had pointed in, heading towards room 312.

Once he read 308 to his right on the side of one of the white doors, he slowed his pace and finally hit his destination. His heart beat a little bit faster, much to his dismay. He cursed himself to smarten up, he had only spoke to a victim a few times by himself, and even then someone was soon to show up. Giving himself a mental slap, he ducked his head slowly into the open doorway and seen one bed with rumpled white blankets on top. He could only see the bottom half of the bed from where he was standing and suddenly the pair of feet shifted slightly.

Reid cleared his throat quietly and knocked lightly on the door jam.

"Hello?" He called into the room. When no reply came from inside, he pushed himself to walk into the room uninvited.

Once he had a full view of the bed, he was a little stunned to see the girl laying in it. Her long deep brown hair was ruffled slightly around her, her left eye was bruised terrible, mirrored by a few cuts on the right side of her face. From what he could see, her right arm was in a cast up to the elbow and it was being held safely in a sling.

Once his hidden form was seen by the girl in the bed, he stopped in mid step with an odd feeling of being caught for something. She stared at him with wide eyes, they were severely light green in contrast to the harsh purple bruise surrounding her eye. Now that he was closer he could see the long red marks on her neck along with small scratches. The way they were shaped, Reid could guess she had been strangled by the unsub's hands.

Clearing his throat again after realizing he had been staring, he introduced himself tentatively, "I'm, uh, Dr. Spencer Reid. I work for... I'm from the Behavioural Analysis Unit in the FBI…" He stammered, immediately cursing Morgan for sending him in here alone.

Dani continued to look at him with wide eyes, looking small and fragile under the pasty white sheets on the hospital bed. When she didn't respond, he continued,

"Your name's Dani right? I, uh, did you feel like talking? I'm here to help… To figure out who…" His voice tapered off not finishing the sentence. He felt like he was getting nowhere fast and wondered if he should go find Morgan.

"Je ne parle pas anglais…" A meek voice sounded from the hospital bed. Reid cocked his head as he looked back at the girl in confusion. She was no longer staring at him, but looking down at her clasped hands.

He nodded slowly and looked nervously around the room, "I'll, I'll be right back…" He said, not sure if she could even understand him. With one last glance at the defeated looking girl, he quickly skittered off to find Morgan.

It took him nearly 20 minutes, but after some help from a few nurses along the way Reid found Morgan in a small office speaking with a grey haired man in a white coat.

"Reid?" Morgan questioned once Reid quickly entered the small room. He was slightly out of breath and his face looked slightly flustered. "Dr. Hunter, this is Dr. Reid, he is from the BAU as well." Morgan introduced the two, his eyes not leaving Reid's confused face.

"Dr. Hunter, has Dani spoke to anyone yet?" Reid asked soon after shaking hands with the older man.

Dr. Hunter shook his head, "No, she's been sleeping most of the time since her surgery. All we've gotten out of her is her name, and that was enough for us to get her health information."

Reid nodded, taking in the information while Morgan looked at Reid in more confusion, "Reid what's going on?" He asked curiously.

"Um, I think we have a problem… At first I thought she just wasn't wanting to talk, but when she did, I… It was… Morgan, I don't think she speaks English…" Reid explained quickly. "From the accent I think it was French. What are we supposed to do now?"


	4. Skeptical Attack

**Disclaimer: Same as usual.**

**I would also like to point out how fantastic the season premiere of CM was. I don't think I breathed once in that whole hour.**

"So have you found any links at all between the other six victims?" Prentiss asked Detective Morris. Her and JJ were sitting near his desk, JJ had given her very brief consultation to the media in hopes it would cover the leak that made its way into the press. She hadn't said much at all, but sometimes a confirming voice that the police and FBI were working together in order to solve the issue was enough for the time being.

Detective Morris shook his head sadly, "We had just began throwing the possibility around that this could be the same guy a couple weeks ago. There are reports from when we interviewed the families of the victims. A couple, Jessica Stork and one we couldn't even get a name on, Victim 2, they didn't have any family or personal friends that we could find. Jessica was a well known prostitute in the bad side of town and no one could come in to identify the body. No hits were found when we ran her DNA through the system either…"

Prentiss nodded, accepting his answer. She flipped through the pages of reports from the victims and looked back up at the detective, "Would we be able to meet with the other four families? Maybe we could find something that would help us… I'm not saying you didn't do a thorough job, it's just that we'd like to get as much information as possible to determine something that would tie all of this to the same person."

"It's no problem. All of the other victims' immediate family lives in the city. We can take you there whenever you need." Morris replied gratefully. In his mind he was hoping he had made the right decision of bringing the BAU down. After the possibility of the six murders being linked came up, he picked up the phone to Aaron Hotchner, someone who had helped him break a case nearly five years ago. He hoped to find the person responsible for the deaths of six innocent women and attack on the seventh. He wanted nothing more than to put this case to rest and once again put comfort into his city.

"Has anyone spoken with Dani Lereux yet?" JJ asked without looking up from the pile of papers in front of her. This case looked severely random, the only known link between the women in the reports have been their looks. All were eerily alike in their coloring, body shape, and from what she could see from some of the pictures, wore the same type of clothing.

Detective Moriss shook his head reluctantly. "She was attacked sometime during the night two days ago, someone called an ambulance about three or four hours after the guy was long gone. She's been in surgery most of yesterday and under anaesthesia until today. I'm hoping she's awake by now, your friends look like they could get something out of her."

"Where was she found? Who called 911?" Prentiss asked.

Morris cleared her throat, "Well see this is where I get more worried. First two vics were found random places, third found in her own car, fourth in her own car again, but this one was parked right outside her apartment. Fifth and sixth both found on their own property, the sixth was in her own garage for Christ sake." Detective Morris ran a rough hand over his tired face. In the last week he hadn't slept much, six murders in two months, the last three happening within three weeks was a lot for Seattle. It was a large city, yet had a very low murder rate, even a low crime rate for the size of its population.

"Dani Lereux, she was found in her car inside the underground parking garage of her apartment building. She was in the driver's seat, slumped against the window. A resident of the same building was passing by at five in the morning, he was on his way to work. He was walking by when he noticed the car's engine running funny and the lights were on. When he walked further he seen Dani's bloody face pressed up against the window. When we questioned him, he said anyone who used the parking garage needed a key to get in, a key to get out. Whoever did this to Dani either was with her when she drove in, lives in the same building or snuck in when someone was driving out."

JJ and Prentiss shuddered inwardly at the image that had formed in their minds.

………………………………………………………….

"Speak and you shall receive."

Garcia answered the phone quickly. She was sitting in her room filled with computer bleeps and blinking screens, awaiting any word from her teammates regarding the last case. They had rushed off to Seattle in a hurry earlier that day, leaving her lonely in the Quantico headquarters.

"Hey sugar mama. Listen, I've got a question for you. You know all of that French lingo you're always teasing me with?" Morgan asked. Reid and himself were standing outside of Dani Lereux's room. After Reid ushered Morgan in to see the pale woman in the hospital bed, Morgan realized the poor girl wasn't saying anything. He had tried to talk to her, using his soothing charm, but she had just stared at him with scared, wide eyes like she had with Reid.

"Ah, oui oui mon amour." Garcia's smile was heard over the phone.

Morgan chuckled softly, "Yeah, that's the stuff. Listen, our survivor girl here, she doesn't seem to speak any English, but she's got a nice, strong French thing going on here…"

Garcia knew where he was heading and she smoothly interrupted his unasked question, "Ah, I see my handsome prince. However, my French skills are limited to common greetings and dirty innuendos. You know I only learn the latter for you, mon cher."

"Ok, ok," Morgan laughed again. "Well you know I enjoy it. Guess I'll see what else I can scrounge up then."

"Talk to Emily. She has about 30 other languages under her belt I'm sure French is one of them. And I do believe our Supervisor stud has some hidden skills au français himself." Garcia supplied with a hint of teasing in her voice.

Morgan smiled in disbelief, "Hotch? No way…"

"I only speak the truth. Any other requests in the near future though, I shall oblige."

With that, Morgan heard a click on the other line ending the conversation. He smiled and shook his head as he re-opened his cell phone to make another call.

**I was going to keep going on this chapter, but for what I wanted to include would make it far too long. This one is kind of blah, but the next will hopefully include more interesting stuff.  
-A**


	5. Prentiss to the Rescue

**This is what lazy Sundays are for…**

**Disclaimer: I NOW OFFICIALLY OWN CRMINAL MINDS!! I… No… Wait, I don't…**

**P.S. Some info on Prentiss is completely made up and probably not true to the plots on CM.**

"I tried to get here as soon as I could," Prentiss spoke breathlessly as she walked up to Reid in the front entrance of the hospital. He was sitting on one of the waiting room chairs, fiddling with the strap on his messenger bag when a voice startled him from behind.

"Oh, great. Morgan left, Hotch wanted him at Dani's apartment. I think them and Rossi are going to check out the parking garage and asked the landlord some questions. So you're pretty fluent in French then I take it?" Reid smiled in relief as Prentiss nodded her head.

"Yeah, I lived in France for almost two years, it was a long time ago, but I'm sure it will all come back to me." Prentiss smiled back at Reid. She could tell he was slightly uncomfortable, but looked relieved now that she was here. He stood up and began leading the way down the wide hallway towards Dani's room.

"This is it. She looks pretty banged up, Morgan said the doctor told him she had four broken ribs on her right side, her right forearm was broken, had some internal bleeding and a concussion. She's got a nasty bruise on her eye too." Once they reached the doorway of room 312, Reid lightly touched Prentiss' arm, motioning her to stop. "Did you find anything out at the station? Hotch mentioned the murders appeared to be escalating since the beginning, getting more personal."

Prentiss nodded slowly, "Yeah, with Dani he somehow got right into the locked underground parking garage at her apartment building. He was either in the car, lives in the building and has a key, or snuck in when someone drove out."

Reid frowned and raised a finger to his chin in thought, "Well, with the other victims, there wasn't anything that pointed to them knowing the unsub. They seemed to be attacked off guard; most had head wounds or evidence of being choked from behind…"

Prentiss nodded along with him, but Reid's eyes suddenly went wide and he grabbed Prentiss' arm excitedly, "The other victims, they were strangled from behind! There were a couple where the unsub tried choking them with his bare hands, but ended up having to use a rope or belt. Dani," Reid lowered his voice, even though he knew Dani wouldn't have been able to understand what he was saying from inside the hospital room, "Dani was only strangled by hands. There are finger bruises on her neck, but there isn't any evidence of anything else being used… I'm going to find the doctor and double check, ask if the bruising was made from in front or behind, maybe you can ask Dani about it. At least try to get her talking…" Reid patted Prentiss on the arm before disappearing down the hallway in a half walk-half jog.

Prentiss shook her head slightly from Reid's self-realizing ramble and stepped into the private hospital room. The blinds were mostly closed, only casting a dim light from the setting sun outside. Her eyes travelled to the bed, which was occupied by a worried looking girl, similar to the pictures of the other victims. Prentiss offered a comforting smile and set her bag down, then pulled up a chair to the angled bed.

"Bonjour, Dani," Prentiss spoke softly. She had lots of experience speaking with traumatized victims, the one in front of her looked traumatized enough, and she didn't want to jump into questions regarding her attack until she felt comfortable enough to do so.

Dani's face reflected slight shock, but when she didn't respond, Prentiss continued, "Je m'appelle Emily Prentiss. Je travaille pour la Police judiciaire fédérale. Comment vas-tu?"

Prentiss prayed the woman would speak to her, even though she looked scared, hers was the only case that could point them in the direction of the bastard that did this to her. Prentiss studied the girl carefully, the ghastly bruise on her eye had spread to her cheekbone, but her eyes were amazingly beautiful. Prentiss guessed she was a few years younger than herself, and decided that from her looks, she could almost be her little sister.

"Ca va…" Dani replied quietly. Her voice was slightly hoarse and she stared down at the bed sheets as she spoke. "Je suis dans la douleur, mais la médecine aide… Et toi?"

Prentiss smiled gratefully that Dani was speaking, and laughed softly that Dani was asking her how she was, while she was the one recovering from a terrible nightmare.

……………………………………………………………….

**I'll translate the conversation here so hopefully it's more clear to those who don't know any French.**

**Prentiss: "Hello Dani, My name is Emily Prentiss. I work for the FBI. How are you feeling?"**

**Dani: "Ok…" "I hurt, but the medicine helps… And you?"**

**Now, on with the story…  
-A**

...

"I spoke with Hotch and told him that Dani was attacked from the front. The doctor confirmed that the marks on her neck are from a pair of hands and nothing else…" Reid had dragged Prentiss outside of Dani's room to update her on what has been happening. When he had walked in moments earlier, he noticed Dani's eyes were less wide and her body language told him she was more relaxed now. He made a mental note to thank Prentiss later.

"Did they get anything out of the landlord?" Prentiss asked eagerly, hoping for some good news.

Reid shook his head solemnly, "No, they didn't help much, but they gave us access to every resident's files. We need to check the backgrounds of every one, just incase one of them is the unsub. I think Morgan went back to the station to get JJ to help him with it. They shouldn't take long with Garcia's help."

Reid took a moment to peek into the quiet hospital room. Suddenly a doctor pushing a gurney swept past them after yelling a short warning and Reid quickly jumped back. He cleared his throat before speaking again,

"So, how… How is she? Has she said anything yet?" He asked, referring to Dani.

"Well, she's more relaxed now, she seemed really frightened at first, which I don't blame her. She hasn't said anything about what happened, but I do know that she's 24 years old, she lives alone, and her family is from France, where she lived for a while before moving here when she was 17." Prentiss explained. It was getting late, the sun was set now and they could hear beeps and shouts coming from the emergency area further down the hall. The emergencies that lurked in the night were now being brought in, breaking the stillness that hung in the air.

"She has no family here? No one's been here to see her?" Reid asked unbelievably. He couldn't imagine being attacked so viciously and ending up in the emergency room, only to wake up with no familiar faces to comfort you.

"No, I think we're the only ones who have been here. She mentioned her mother died shortly after they had moved here with Dani's younger sister. After that, her sister moved back to France where she now lives with her Aunt." Prentiss yawned suddenly and shook her head. "Listen, I'm going to get some coffee, you want some?" Reid nodded eagerly at the request, making Prentiss laugh. "Ok, but you have to stay here with Dani. Hotch wants someone at this hospital room at all times, just in case. He might get some of Morris' men to watch the room over night. They think since her attack seemed to be more personal, he might come looking for her if he ever finds out she's still alive…"

"Ok, well what should I… I mean… Hey, if she hasn't talked to you about the attack yet, what if she never does? Do you think maybe she should see a psychologist or something?" Reid stammered. After the uncomfortable silence earlier, he wasn't so sure he wanted to be in the room alone with the girl who wouldn't understand him.

Prentiss laughed, "Well you're the genius and you know all about behaviour, why don't you take a crack at it?" With that she turned around and walked down the long hallway in hopes to find a coffee machine.

Reid sighed out loud and mentally shook his fist at Prentiss as she walked away from him. Feeling helpless, he looked down the other direction of the hallway, then finally gave up and walked into the hospital room tentatively.

As soon as he entered, the dark haired woman looked up at him, her eyes were less scared, her body more relaxed, but she didn't say anything, just looked at Reid in curiosity.

Reid half smiled at her and waved his hand slightly, immediately feeling like a dork because of it. He hesitated before leaning against the wall and he licked his dry lips nervously before deciding to talk. The room was much too quiet and the incessant beeping of the machines was beginning to get to him.

"I'm, uh, Dr. Spencer Reid… I was in here earlier, I don't know if you remember me or not…" He spoke, feeling foolish and trying to resist the pink hue that was beginning to flood across his cheeks. "I, uh, don't speak any French, but I hope Emily is helping. She's pretty nice, I didn't, um…"

Suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket and he sent a thanks to above while he fumbled with pulling the cell phone free from his trousers.

"Excuse me…" He sent an apology to Dani, then rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. She probably thought he was a crazy man, talking illegible nonsense.

"Spencer Reid," He answered his phone after finally flipping it open. He stole a glance back at Dani, who was now focusing on rearranging the sheet covering her.

"Yeah, Prentiss and I are both here… Oh, ok… Yeah we'll be here… I'll go and see who's managing the night shift and check with them, I don't think it will be a problem… No, she hasn't said anything about the attack yet… No, she only speaks French so Prentiss has been talking with her… Yeah… I don't know if she'll talk about it tonight, I think she could still be in shock… Ok… Ok… Bye."

Reid flipped his cell phone shut and held it in his hand for a moment thinking. He ran his thumb over the display on the cover, it was almost 9pm.

"I only do it when I'm nervous…"

The quiet voice broke his thoughts and startled him so bad he jumped and nearly dropped his cell phone. He spun around quickly and stared at the source of the voice on the bed. Dani was still looking down at the sheet infront of her, her lips were pressed tightly together and she didn't look up at him.

"You.. You, uh, speak.. How… When did you…" Reid's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed furiously as he stared at the meek looking girl. "You know what we…? Did you.. Did you understand what I just…"

Reid stopped himself and took a small breath, trying to lower the tempo of his heart.

"I'm sorry… I just… I have a habit of doing it.. When I'm scared or nervous… I wasn't ready for any interrogations, I didn't want to talk about it… Please don't tell anyone yet…" Dani explained quietly, not looking up at Reid the whole time. He could see her hands fiddling with the blanket infront of her and her eyes were beginning to well up with tears.

Reid stood motionless in shock, his mind retracing the conversation he just had with Hotch over the phone, hoping he didn't say anything undermining infront of Dani. He knew he should have taken the call outside the room, but he felt he was safe knowing Dani wouldn't understand anything he said. The way she spoke now, it didn't have any hint of an accent at all, it was perfect English. Reid had no doubt she understood anything that was said infront of her. The realization flowed over him and he stood with wide eyes, trying to force the embarrassment off of his face.


	6. The Tall Geeky Man with Shaggy Hair

**Huzzah, two chapters in one day. Go. Me.  
-A**

Prentiss was walking quickly back down the hall to Dani's room, two bad coffees from the vending machine in hand. She was almost to the room when Reid shot out of it, nearly bumping into her.

"Reid, what the hell??" Prentiss shrieked as she balanced the coffee. Thankfully none of it spilled, but her heart was still racing from Reid's very sudden appearance.

"Oh, sorry… I have to… I'm going to, uh…" He pointed awkwardly down the hall before walking briskly away, leaving Prentiss standing dumbfounded outside Dani's room. He skittered quickly around the corner then disappeared.

"Weird…" Prentiss mumbled to herself and walked into the room to find Dani sitting in her bed, the same position she had been before.

"Qu'est-ce qui était cela de??" Prentiss asked what that was all about, a small smile still on her face from Reid's odd behaviour.

Dani attempted a shrug, but winced from the pain immediately. "Je ne sais pas?" She replied that she didn't know and hoped her face was clear from any emotion. She hadn't planned on saying anything at all, but Dr. Spencer Reid seemed fairly uncomfortable being in the room with her, and she felt he deserved an explanation. She was worried he would tell everyone, and even more worried that he would never step into the room again.

Prentiss smiled again, and told her a little bit about Reid, hopefully explaining some of the odd behaviour she may have just witnessed. Dani was surprised to learn that he had graduated high school at the age of 12 and that he currently had three PhDs under him. She was clearly impressed, and Prentiss was glad that she even received a small smile from the girl when telling the story of what the team did on his 24th birthday.

"Quand est votre anniversaire?" Prentiss asked when Dani's birthday was, noticing how their small talk was visibly comforting to her.

"Le 12 Octobre," Dani replied. Prentiss' jaw dropped and she let out a guffaw, confusing Dani slightly, but Prentiss shook her head from side to side, explaining how that was the same day as Reid's birthday. Prentiss laughed again and Dani offered a small smile from the irony.

……………………………………………………………..

"Hey, how are things going in here?" Prentiss spun around in her chair that was facing Dani's bed as Morgan stepped into the room, his appearance surprising her.

"Oh, hey Derek, what are you doing here?" Prentiss asked as she pushed herself to a standing position.

Morgan looked around the room quickly before replying, "Hotch told Reid I was coming back to get all the reports on the other victims from the hospital. We need to look into details, we think there's something fishy about it… Where is Reid anyways, isn't he supposed to be here with you?"

Prentiss shrugged, "I went to get coffee and when I got back like ten minutes ago, he was bolting out of here like a scared chicken…"

Morgan laughed and didn't notice the amused smile on Dani's face as she listened to Prentiss' explanation of Reid's disappearance. She couldn't help but wonder if he was ever going to come back to talk to her.

"Oh, uh, Dani, c'est Derek Morgan, il travaille aussi pour la Police judiciaire fédérale." Prentiss remembered her manners as she introduced Morgan to her. Dani offered a shy smile to him as Prentiss filled him in with the events that had happened since he left earlier. They still hadn't gotten anything out of Dani regarding the attack.

"Oh, hey," Reid finally returned as he walked into the room, hesitating at first. He looked briefly at Dani who wouldn't look him in the eye, then turned to Morgan.

"You get the reports yet?" He asked, keeping his mind focused on holding the fresh cup of coffee in his hands.

Morgan gave him a suspicious look. "No, I was just about to. Hotch and Rossi are starting to think that maybe-"

Reid interrupted him quickly before he could finish, "Uh, hey let's talk outside ok?" He squeaked and spun around on his heel before quickly exiting the room. Morgan and Prentiss soon followed, looking at him in confusion.

"Reid, what's going on with you?" Prentiss asked, then pointed to his half gone cup of coffee. "I brought you one, why did you go get another?"

"Yeah, you're acting more jumpy than usual. She can't understand English anyways, right? What's the point of coming out here…?" Morgan questioned.

Reid stammered for an answer at first, but his mind quickly spit one out. "Well, it's just that I know I would feel uncomfortable, knowing people are talking about me and not being able to understand…" He explained, hoping his statement was reasonable.

"Well, anyways, like I was saying, Hotch and Rossi are starting to think that this guy could be leading up to something. Look at the series of murders, starting off at random, then gradually getting more hands on with the victims?"

Reid nodded, his head wrapping back around the case. "You're right, it's almost as if he was… Practicing. Like getting his style perfected before the main target."

Morgan nodded in agreement, "Hotch wants one of us to stay the night here, to make sure Dani isn't alone. Prentiss, seeing as you're the only one who can communicate with her, you think you're up for it?"

"Yeah, sure. Let me just go in and tell her what's going on…" Prentiss advised before disappearing back into the small hospital room.

Once she was out of sight, Morgan eyed Reid intently. "What's up with you man? Too much coffee?"

Reid raised his eyebrows in question, trying to act nonchalant. "Huh? No, I don't know. Nothing, I guess."

He fingered the paper cup of coffee and looked around the walls of the hallway. Before Morgan could grill him anymore, Prentiss stepped back into the hallway.

"Um… So, she's asking for Reid…" Prentiss stated slowly once she stepped back infront of the two men. Morgan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Reid.

"You sure? Why would she want to talk to Reid?" Morgan teased as Reid tried to keep his face blank. "Are you sure it's him she was asking for?"

Prentiss shrugged effortlessly, but was wondering why indeed. "She literally asked for the 'tall, geeky man with shaggy hair'."

Morgan's laughter echoed in Reid's ears as he disappeared into the hospital room, closing the door behind him. He tried to wipe the flush from his cheeks before stepping into Dani's view.

"What's, uh… You wanted to talk to me?" Reid asked when he walked slowly up to the foot of the bed.

"Please don't hate me…" Dani spoke quickly as she clenched the blanket between her fingers. "I know I lied, I made a fool of myself, but it was intimidating when you guys came in here at first… I couldn't… What happened the other night, it… I just…" Tears began to well up in her eyes again and Reid suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"No, don't cry. It's, um… It's really ok. If I could speak another language I probably would have done the same thing…" Reid replied quickly, hoping his words sounded comforting. Dani half smiled at his response.

"Are you… Do you guys need to leave? Am I going to have to spend the night here alone…? Dani asked and Reid could immediately sense the fear in her voice, and noticed her hands unconsciously twisting the sheets in her lap.

"No! No.. Um, actually our supervisor wants one of us to stay here, just to… Um… To make sure you're comfortable…" Reid lied slightly, not wanting to let her know that her attacker was still out there and that there was a chance he would want to hurt her again, or maybe worse… "Actually, we were thinking that maybe Prentiss could stay here with you. You'd probably be most, um, comfortable with her…"

Dani nodded, taking the information in. "Could you… I mean, if you even wanted to… Would you stay with me?" She asked quietly, staring again at the blanket in her hands.

Reid swallowed the large lump in his throat, but kept his breathing even. "I… I guess I could… If that's what you wanted, but… You have to tell them that you… You can speak English…"

Dani nodded slowly, knowing she had to sooner or later. Reid excused himself, saying he would bring them in.

"Hey guys," Reid announced once he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, keeping a hand on the door handle. "Um… Dani, she… She wants to know if I could stay with her…"

Morgan chuckled, "Yeah right. And just how would you know what she said, pretty boy? You just want to stay with her don't you, you old dog."

Reid's cheeks flushed uncontrollably at Morgan's accusations. It wasn't true, he knew it, but he just wished he could stop blushing at every teasing comment Morgan made when it came to women.

"Well, she actually… Um, she does speak English." Reid pointed out, surprising Morgan and Prentiss more so.

They both ran into the room to confirm Reid's words, leaving Reid in the doorway to sort out his thoughts.

**BTW: I don't know if they ever mentioned what 'day' Reid's birthday was. I just based it on the day that the episode aired.  
Reviews and advice always welcome!  
-A**


	7. Overnight Scares

**Here it is, another chapter. Gives a small explanation of what happened. Hope you enjoy.  
Disclaimer: Nothing has changed… sigh But Christmas is around the corner…**

"They agreed to it, and I even met with the night security staff for confirmation… Yeah they brought in a cot for me to sleep on so I can stay with her… Uh, no it's ok I have my ready bag here… Yeah… I'll try and talk to her… Thanks… I'll see you in the morning."

Reid flipped his cell phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket, wondering what he had gotten himself into. It was bad enough being in the same room as her for five minutes, and now he had to spend the night.

Sneaking a glance at his watch, he realized it was almost 10pm. Prentiss had left to the hotel for the night and now he was making his way back to his make shift bedroom.

"Who were you talking to?" Dani asked curiously as he stepped into the room, his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, uh, that was just my… Hotch. Agent Hotchner? He's my supervisor… Not MY Hotchner…" His cheeks flushed immediately as he turned his back to her and tried to look busy, fiddling inside his overnight bag sitting on the folded out cot on the other side of the room. From where he was standing her heard a small chuckle come from the bed, followed by a more audible groan.

"You ok?" Reid asked seriously, his mind momentarily forgetting the awkwardness as he rushed to her bedside as she clenched her side in pain.

"Yeah… Yeah don't worry. It just hurts when I laugh or move too quick." Dani tried to offer a smile, but it came out crooked and wobbly. "You know, you really need to loosen up a little."

Reid glared at her slightly as he sat down in the chair by the window, "Loosen up? I don't need to loosen up."

Dani smiled softly again, this one a little less shaky. "Sure you do… I can tell you're nervous, please don't be. I'm really not that bad…"

Reid scurried his eyebrows slightly, wondering if this girl who was recently attacked was now making a joke. He tried to brush it off as he leaned carefully back in the chair and crossed his legs so his ankle was resting on his knee.

"So, um… Dani, can you tell me what happened?" He asked quietly and seemed to unwillingly focus on his hands in his lap, rather than looking her in the eye. She didn't reply right away, but when he heard her shift in the bed and wince in pain, he managed to bring his eyes back up to her.

"I was… Driving home from the Kinley Language Center… I volunteer there twice a week, to help translate for families, or tutor high school kids in their French studies, stuff like that." Dani shrugged her good shoulder and quickly glanced up to notice Reid nodding. "It was later, I think around 8 or 9pm… It was just a normal day, I drove home, I opened the garage with my key and turned my lights on so I could see. I remember it was darker than usual, the lights right when you get inside the parkade were blown out."

Dani frowned as she remembered the minor detail that she hadn't thought of earlier. Reid brought his small notebook from his bag and made a quick note.

"I drove into my parking stall, and opened the door. I almost forgot my purse, and to shut the engine off, I know it sounds stupid… But I had a lot on my mind that night…" Dani apologized unnecessarily and fidgeted with the sling that was hugging her arm close to her body. "I held the door open with my foot as I reached across the console to grab my purse. When I turned back around, someone was standing right there, right outside my open door. I gasped, I remember I said something like 'Oh, you startled me', thinking this guy was maybe seeing if I was ok, or needed help or something. The people in my building are really nice… Only he just stood there staring at me… I remember he was holding his arm in front of his face, I thought maybe shielding the light streaming from inside the car, but when I frowned at him and asked what he was doing, he brought his fist down and…"

Dani's voice cracked suddenly. It was two different things, thinking it and saying the story out loud. She fought the tears that were threatening to spill over her eyes, and took a deep, shaky breath.

"It's ok…" Reid comforted and stood to slide his chair closer to the bed, "Then what happened?"

Dani swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "He hit me so hard I flew back onto the console… My purse went flying outside the car and I remember hearing everything falling out of it onto the cement. I remember thinking, 'Oh god, what if my keys fell down the vent right beside my car?' It's weird, you know, the things you think of at times like that…" Dani smiled briefly and received a warm smile back from Dr. Reid. "Then he grabbed me by the arm, real rough and jerked me out of the car. He hit me in the face again and knocked me to the cement. Then he started kicking me in the ribs. I saw my cell phone lying on the ground just a few feet away. He must have seen me going for it… Because he kicked me so hard in the arm I heard it crack. It was almost like a popping sound… He kicked the cell phone further away and threw himself on me…"

A tear escaped and rolled slowly down her cheeks, despite Dani biting her lip so hard trying not to allow it. Her heart was racing now as she thought of the events and she nearly jumped off the bed as Reid softly touched her arm.

"Dani, it's ok, I'm right here. Did you want to continue…? You know , we can leave this until-"

"No." Dani cut him off and angrily wiped the tears away with her good arm, "I want to tell you. You need it don't you? You need to know so you can catch him." Reid nodded slowly as he averted her eyes. "So he jumped on me. He sat on my stomach and punched me again in the face, then in the ribs. Then he… He grabbed my neck and started squeezing. I tried to kick and scream, but nothing would work, I was in so much pain… I clawed at him with my left hand, but he wouldn't let go… I remember… Remember wondering if I was going to die that night… And the only thing I could think of was… I was supposed to call my sister that evening. I speak to her every Tuesday. I thought, oh god, what if Sophie thinks I had forgotten, she would hate me. Then everything went black…"

Dani remained quiet then, staring down at the tangled blanket infront of her as she chewed at her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit she had, or something she constantly did while in deep thought. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to regain her composure before she dared to look at the man across from her.

"Did he… Um, did you hear him say anything? Or see his face at all?" Reid questioned. He felt terrible for being the one to pester her and bring back the nightmare of what happened, but Hotch reminded him of his job that night, and it was try and get some more information from Dani, so when the team met together the next day they could hopefully begin to form a profile.

Dani merely shook her head sadly and Reid noticed a small frown form on her face.

"No… No, I didn't see or hear anything. All I remember is the sound of my purse spilling everywhere, and the… When he kicked my arm…" Her hand moved self-consciously to touch the cast her arm was now bound in.

Reid winced slightly at the look on her face. He was about to ask another question, but she spoke before he could.

"I'm getting tired… I think I should get some sleep now…" She spoke quietly and shifted down more into the covers. "Can we… Um, can you leave the light on? I mean… If you don't mind…"

Reid nodded and watched as the girl slowly closed her eyes and rest her head to one side. He moved from the chair and quietly sat on the cot wondering if he would be able to sleep at all.

…………………………………………………………………

Reid struggled in his sleep, unconsciously wondering why he couldn't roll over. He frowned, annoyed and confused when his arm hit something metal and cold. He was dreaming that he was at the mental institution where his mother was staying. He could see her through a doorway, sitting in a rocking chair, frighteningly familiar to the one she had sat in, reading him bed time stories when he was a young boy. He was yelling at her, trying to get her attention, but she remained rocking slowly in the chair, writing feverishly into a tattered notebook. When he reached out into the room, a metal bar suddenly blocked his way, sending a blinding pain through his arm.

"Non! Non!... Arrêtez-le!!..."

Suddenly a woman screaming jolted him from his dream. In a semi-conscious state he reached for his night table for his gun, where he quickly realized was not there at all.

"Ne faites pas!"

He sat up light a lightning bolt had shot through him as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital room, where he soon remembered where he was. Looking quickly around the room, his eyes landed on the bed where Dani was thrashing wildly in her sleep, kicking her legs so the sheets flew off of the bed.

"…Non…Non!" She screamed again. Reid ran quickly to the bedside and looked down at her. Her face was scrunched up in a deep frown and her head twisted from side to side. He reached out and shook her lightly, then harder when he realized she wasn't waking up.

"Dani… Dani!" He called out to her as he shook her body harder.

"Arrêtez-vous!!" Dani's hand flew up and clamped on Reid's arm tightly as her eyes flew open. When she realized who it was she dropped her arm back to her side and stared up at him with wide eyes.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice raspy. Reid winced in pain from the grip she had had on his arm, and he rubbed it slowly as he straightened his stance.

"You were… Dreaming. I think you were having a nightmare, I think you were speaking French again…" He explained and frowned down at her. "Are you ok?"

Dani nodded, she felt disoriented, the dream had seemed so frightening, so vivid. She pulled herself to a half sitting position and struggled for the glass of water beside her bed. Reid darted forward quickly and grabbed it for her, receiving a small thanks from the shaken girl.

"I'm sorry if I woke you…" She said meekly after downing half of the water. Reid shrugged and placed the glass back on the stand.

"Don't worry about it. It's what I'm here for…"

"To protect me from my dreams?" Dani asked in mock amusement, making Reid blush slightly. "Sorry, Doctor, I know you work for the FBI and all, but I don't think even you can protect me from my dreams…"

Reid's cheeks flushed harder and he stammered for something to say, but Dani beat him to it.

"…But thanks for trying…" She added before sinking back down into her pillow to try and get some more sleep.

**Basically Dani was crying out things like "Stop!", "Don't!", "Get off me!" in her sleep. Just thought I would clear that up. Reviews are welcome! (As always!)**


	8. Mystery Flowers

**This chapter ran longer than I thought, and I figured I could squeeze more into it, but I shall leave it until the next chappy. Happy reading.**

"So we've ran a background check on every resident in Dani's building, including the landlords. Everything came out clean. No one at Dani's volunteer Center is seemingly threatening, although I would like someone to go back and ask them some questions about Dani; if they've noticed anyone hanging around her or asking about her, repeated visitors, anything."

Hotch paced as he spoke to the rest of the team who were all situated in the boardroom at the police station. Detective Morris and two of his colleagues joined them while they briefed, trying to take in all of the information to lead to a possible suspect.

"The unsub hasn't attacked since Dani, it may be possible that she could have been his target all along. Shouldn't we just fish him out through the media or something?" Detective Morris question carefully.

Hotch shook his head slowly, "So far he hasn't made any attacks since Dani, so if she is his intended target, we can only assume he doesn't know she survived… If he finds out there's a chance he could break, he could attack fast and brutally in his frustration."

Hotch received nods from his teammates, so he continued. "Now we can't just go on the possibility of Dani being his main target. Even though the victimology appears that he has just been practicing, we can't rule out that this may just be him escalating and getting more physical with his murders."

"Dani mentioned the lights were out in the entrance to the parkade. Have we looked into that? Was it a coincidence or is there evidence that someone altered them?" Reid asked, remembering the fact that had stuck in his head since the night before.

"When my men took a closer look at it, the bulbs were turned just enough so the fuse wouldn't connect." Detective Morris spoke up. "That's not something that just happens on coincidence…"

"Were there any prints on the bulbs?" JJ asked, even though she already knew the answer. Detective Morris shook his head to confirm.

"Ok, let's look at the victims. In no way were they linked, they were completely random including Dani. What if this guy is just getting off on killing women with dark hair? It wouldn't be the first time this has happened." Morgan pointed out. He moved the pen between his fingers as he spoke, his eyebrows knitted together with concern.

"Usually when serial killers are killing at random, they tend to take a trophy, or contact the media to brag about how many people they killed or go into detail of what they've done. Also, generally serial killers who attack randomly have some kind of sexual gratification with the victims, or rape them. In these cases neither murders seemed to have any sexual relevance." Reid stated as he tapped his notebook against his knee. The others took a few seconds to absorb the information until the ring of Morgan's cell phone interrupted their thoughts.

"Hey baby girl," He answered with a smile after noticing Garcia's name on the caller ID.

"Honey, you are not going to believe what I just found out about our little survivor girl here…" Garcia spoke smugly. Morgan could hear her fingers quickly typing on multiple keyboards in the background.

"Ok go ahead Garcia, you're on speaker phone." Morgan announced after pressing a button. The team gathered closer and the noisy keys silenced on the other end of the line.

"Ok, Ms. Dani Leroux, I was doing the background check on her, and yes it's true. She moved here from Nice, France with her mom and her younger sister Sophie seven years ago, she had just turned 17. Oh by the way Reid, I found out our young mademoiselle has got the same birthday as you do…" Garcia added with the hint of a smile. A couple members of the team glanced his way curiously, forcing Reid to shrug as his cheeks turned pink. "Anyways, so the little family settled in and then… About four months later her mom died. Little Sophie moved back to France while Dani stayed here in Seattle."

The team remained silent for a moment until Morgan spoke up, "Yeah, Garcia… But Prentiss already found that out yesterday."

"Aha…" Garcia added playfully. "But you underestimate me. You see her mom passed away, but she didn't reveal to you that she had been murdered."

The team looked at each other in confused alarm at the new information.

"Does it say how…?" Prentiss asked towards the small cell phone lying on the table.

"Mmhmm… Says here…" They could hear a few seconds of Garcia typing. "Cause of death, massive loss of blood from severed jugular and carotid artery… He sliced her throat…" Garcia finished somewhat horrified.

"Did they ever catch the guy?" Rossi gently pushed Prentiss to have a better opening to the cell phone.

"Uhhh… Nope. They were holding someone for a few days, but had to release him due to lack of evidence. It never even made it to trial, they had nothing." Garcia shuddered at the thought of someone with that history still at large. "The guy they were holding was a Richard Judd. Still resides in Seattle."

"Thanks Garcia. See if you can cross check any of the victims with him, and get back to us." Hotch replied.

"Aye aye Captain." Garcia hung up the phone quickly.

"Murdered?" Morgan asked in disbelief as Hotch handed his cell phone back.

"Ok, new change of plans…" Hotch looked at Morris, "Detective, can you take Rossi and I to Richard Judd, I think we need to find out what he's been doing in the past little while… JJ, you and Morgan stay here and try to find a common ground between our victims, get Garcia to run any names you find similar, even if it's just between two of them… Prentiss and Reid, since Dani is probably most comfortable with you two, can you go back to the hospital and find out more information on what happened with her mother? We need to know everything to rule out if her mother's death is linked to any of this."

Everyone stood and began to collect their things. Reid was just grabbing his sweater from the back of his chair when Hotch walked up to him.

"How is she? Did she mention any of this to you last night?" He asked, his voice low so the others wouldn't hear.

Reid shook his head quickly, "No, she didn't mention anything about her mother since Prentiss found out she had passed away shortly after they moved. She's doing ok, still shook up. There were two of Morris' officers keeping a watch on the entrance and the corridor past Dani's room when I left this morning."

Hotch nodded and motioned Reid to follow Prentiss, who was waiting for him outside the boardroom door. He sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment before gathering his things and going to follow Morris and Rossi.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Dani winced as the doctor removed the last of the bandaging from her ribs. She clenched her jaw in preparation as the doctor carefully cleaned the area around the stitches of where they had cut her open in order to reset the four ribs on her right side.

"How is it feeling?" Dr. Hunter asked as he finished up and carefully taped new gauze to the stitched area and helped bring Dani to a sitting position so he could wrap the bandage around her rib cage.

"It hurts. The arm is ok, the Tylenols are helping with that, but any time I move my ribs kill me." Dani replied, her voice was tight as he fastened the bandage and helped her to put the nightgown back on.

"Yeah, it will be quite sore for a while. The stitches will have to stay in for a couple weeks, but you're looking good so far. The bruising on the eye should go away in a week or two as well. But all in all, you should be able to leave tomorrow. You'll have to come see me probably ever few days just to be sure there's no infection, but other than that you should be on the mend soon."

Dr. Hunter smiled down at Dani, and she tried to smile back but couldn't help but think how long it would take for her mind to mend. He helped her off the table where he had been tending her and she stood shakily while he readjusted her sling.

"So Mrs. Luthern will help you to the washroom and then back to your room. Try to get some rest." Dr. Hunter gave a wave as the overweight nurse grabbed Dani's good arm and led her down the hallway.

Once she had gone to the bathroom and Mrs. Luthern brought her back to her room, Dani gave a half smile to the uniformed officer she passed in the hallway. She knew they were there for her, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling of what lurked outside that made a policeman watch over her inside the hospital. Nonetheless, it gave her comfort and made her feel safer that he was there.

"What are those?" Dani asked in a croaky voice as the nurse pulled down the fresh covers of her bed in room 312. Mrs Luthern looked up casually, and then continued to fix the covers.

"Why, it looks like someone has sent you flowers my dear," She replied nonchalantly and began to usher Dani to the bed, but Dani averted her and moved quickly to the large vase of lilies and daisies out of curiosity.

"What the hell?" Dani muttered after reading the small card amongst the brightly coloured petals.

"Who are they from?" The older nurse asked as she began to make her way over, but Dani shoved the card back into the vase and attempted a shrug.

"I don't know…" She replied. "I'm ok now, I think I'm just going to watch some tv for a bit…" Dani smiled at the nurse who nodded and told her to buzz if she needed anything before exiting the room.

After the nurse left, Dani walked slowly back to the flowers and pulled the card out again. She read it over multiple times and frowned in thought. She sat down in the chair next to the window sill where the flowers were sitting and winced in pain as she reached for her cell phone next to it.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

"Do you think she'll talk about her mother's murder?" Prentiss asked Reid as they walked down the hospital hall, her face filled with worry. Reid shrugged, his own thoughts were a mask of Prentiss', wondering if the subject they were about to bring up was going to upset her even more.

"I don't know, but it could be a vital piece of information…" Reid tried to think logically. They reached Dani's room, the door was closed, but Prentiss knocked lightly on the door.

"Dani?" She called out towards the door. When there was no answer, she turned the knob anyways and slowly opened it.

When they walked in they could hear Dani talking feverishly.

"-ne faites pas! Restez là je suis bien…" Dani quickly turned around after hearing Prentiss and Reid come in, then turned her attention back to the cell phone at her ear. "Tante, je dois aller. je vous appellerai plus tard,"

She then hung up her cell phone and ran a hand through her dishevelled hair.

"Who was that?" Prentiss asked curiously and took a seat in the other chair, leaving Reid to stand.

Dani sighed, "C'est ma tante…" She replied, and then quickly apologized. "Sorry, that was my aunt Hélène. I received these flowers and thought maybe she had sent them… It wasn't her though. I didn't think she would write the card anyways…"

"You got flowers?" Reid asked, then immediately noticed the big bouquet at the window. He frowned curiously and turned back to Dani.

"Do you know who they're from…?" He asked suspiciously, but Dani shook her head.

"I have no idea. I got this weird card in there too." She held the card out at arm's length towards Reid, her face scrunched slightly from the small effort.

He walked briskly up to her and grabbed the card, reading it quickly. He read it twice more, then looked up at Dani.

He swallowed before asking, "You're… Sure you don't know? Do you know anyone who would send you flowers?"

Dani shook her head, "Anyone who would probably doesn't even know I'm in the hospital."

Reid's worried eyes turned to Prentiss as he handed her the card. She took the liberty of reading it out loud,

"_That motley drama- oh, be sure. It shall not be forgot. With its Phantom chased for evermore, by a crowd that seize it not, through a circle that ever returneth in_." Prentiss stared up at Reid after finishing. "What is this?"

Reid's face was flurried with a frown as he stood deep in thought. "I don't know, but I know it from somewhere… Dani, maybe you should move to the bed, we're going to need to ask you some things. We'll probably be staying for a while…"

**For those of you who don't know any French, when Prentiss and Reid walked in Dani pretty much was saying "-No, don't come out here, stay there I am fine." "Aunty, I have to go, I'll call you again later."**


	9. The Conqueror Worm

**Ok, so the poem in this chappy is real. How I incorporated it, may not be the true meaning of the poem, but it's how I interpret it. I was going to keeping going, but will save it for the next one!  
Reviews would be great!**

"Garcia, I need you to run a phrase search. Dani received a card at the hospital, I know I've heard it before, but I can't place it…" Reid spoke quickly into his cell phone. After he read the card in Dani's room at the hospital, he had quickly called Hotch to meet him back at the station. Reid was standing in the small boardroom, pacing back and forth as Garcia typed feverishly while he read the typing on the card. Prentiss remained at the hospital, rounding up one of the uniformed officers to stand outside Dani's room while she tried to find the nurse who placed the flowers in the room. With any hope, the person delivered them personally to the front desk.

"Got it. It's from _The Conqueror Worm _by-"

"Edgar Allan Poe!" Reid quickly interrupted. "I knew I recognized it. My mom used to read me Edgar Allan Poe when I was younger."

Garcia stopped typing. "Really? Like how little…?" She questioned.

Reid shrugged even though Garcia couldn't see it over the phone. "I don't know, 8, maybe 9?"

"Uh-huh… Your mom read you works of horror when you were 9? Creepy…" Garcia concluded, but Reid brushed it off quickly.

"I need you to send us a copy of the full poem." Reid said quickly as Hotch and Rossi walked into the room, JJ right behind them. Reid said a goodbye to Garcia before hanging up the phone.

"The phrase on the card is from _The Conqueror Worm_ by Edgar Allan Poe." Reid explained as he gave the card to Hotch. "Garcia's sending us a copy. I think Dani may have been his target all along..."

"_The Conqueror Worm_??" JJ asked doubtfully, "What's it about? And why would he send it to Dani?"

"I can't really remember, I have to read it before I can say..." Reid admitted somewhat shamefully, but JJ continued to stare at him.

"You mean, 'Mr. Memory' here can't remember?" A hint of a smile played on her face as Hotch and Rossi looked at Reid in curiosity.

"Eidetic! It's an eidetic memory, I didn't read the poems, they were read to me. That's why I can't remember. There's a big difference you know..." Reid glared slightly at his colleagues as he busied himself with some papers sitting on the round table. Rossi let out a small chuckle and JJ grinned with amusement, but before any more teasing could be made, Prentiss walked briskly into the room.

"Hey, did you-" Reid started to ask her, but she shook her head before he could finish.

"I couldn't track the flowers down. I found the nurse who took them into Dani's room, but she said they were delivered by a person who works at the flower shop. I went to the shop and spoke with him, he checks out completely. Solid alibis for it all. The guy who requested the delivery didn't come into the store either, he called it in. He was very specific to the flowers, and what was said on the card. The guy who took the order in said the guy made him re-read the card to him about five times before he was satisfied."

"If he ordered over the phone, he had to of given a credit card number. Did you-" Reid began to question, but Prentiss interrupted him again.

"I already got Garcia to run it in the system. Turns out it was a stolen credit card of a Mr. Edward Brunsman. He's an 85 year old man who didn't even realize it was missing..." Prentiss' face looked solemn as she explained her dead end to the group.

"Ok, did the store owner remember what time the man called in the order at?" JJ asked. As she studied Prentiss' face, she could guess that she hadn't slept much since they had come out here. For some reason JJ felt Prentiss was taking this case to heart a little, not that anyone ever didn't work their hardest at solving any of the cases they received, but Prentiss seemed to have some sort of personal connection to this one. JJ reminded herself to talk with Emily later on to make sure she was doing alright.

"The man said definitely before lunch, he figures somewhere between 8am and 11am." Prentiss supplied and finally took a seat in one of the chairs surrounding the table.

"Ok, we'll get Detective Morris to send some of his men to track all of the numbers that have called the flower store in between 8am and 11am. While I go do that, someone call Morgan and get him back here. I think we'll be able to put a profile together soon." Aaron Hotchner said before he quickly left the room.

...

_"Lo! 'tis a gala night  
Within the lonesome latter years!  
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight  
In veils, and drowned in tears,  
Sit in a theatre, to see  
A play of hopes and fears,  
While the orchestra breathes fitfully  
The music of the spheres.  
_  
_Mimes, in the form of God on high,  
Mutter and mumble low,  
And hither and thither fly-  
Mere puppets they, who come and go  
At bidding of vast formless things  
That shift the scenery to and fro,  
Flapping from out their Condor wings  
Invisible Woe!  
_  
_That motley drama- oh, be sure  
It shall not be forgot!  
With its Phantom chased for evermore,  
By a crowd that seize it not,  
Through a circle that ever returneth in  
To the self-same spot,  
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,  
And Horror the soul of the plot._

But see, amid the mimic rout  
A crawling shape intrude!  
A blood-red thing that writhes from out  
The scenic solitude!  
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs  
The mimes become its food,  
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs  
In human gore imbued.

Out- out are the lights- out all!  
And, over each quivering form,  
The curtain, a funeral pall,  
Comes down with the rush of a storm,  
While the angels, all pallid and wan,  
Uprising, unveiling, affirm  
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"  
And its hero the Conqueror Worm."

Reid finished reading the full length of the poem that was being projected on the wall. The whole team including Detective Morris and two of his colleagues were listening in on the brief, but once Reid finished, the group remained silent.

"That was... Vivid..." JJ mumbled as she stared in disgust at the large words plastered all over the wall.

"I think he knows we're on to him. By the 'mimes', he seems to be referring to us... He's mocking us almost, saying we're running in circles." Reid concluded as he stood apart from the others. "Also, if he's playing this message as first person, he's referring to himself as The Conqueror Worm. From the words in the poem, I think he's been trying to track Dani around for a while... We're going to have to go back to Dani and ask about the time her mother was murdered. I have a feeling that has to do with what is happening now."

"Does he think he's doing a favor by choosing Dani to be murdered? And what about the other women he's killed?" Rossi asked quickly, "It doesn't seem to make sense. Why would he waste time on the other victims, opposed to focusing directly on Dani?"

"Well, the poem is all about death. The 'Angels', they sit and watch until the Conqueror Worm ends a life. On a deeper level, it explains how all of humanity's struggles are for nothing and causes nothing by horror and sin, we're just pawns for greater beings. I think something happened with Dani that affected the unsub. He seems to have been watching her for a while now. He obviously knows she survived the attack and wanted her to know he knows..." Reid explained as his face contorted into a small frown of concern.

The room remained silent for a few moments before Detective Morris broke the stillness, "We tracked down the number used to order the flowers, but it came to another dead end. A prepaid cell phone was used, a disposable. Can't track it..."

Hotch looked at his watch as he sighed in frustration. It was almost 11pm, and he ran a hand roughly through his black hair, "Ok, look it's getting late. Detective, I want two more men at the hospital overnight. Now that the unsub has made contact with Dani, we can't take any risks. Reid, in the morning I want you to pick up Dani from the hospital first thing. She's being discharged tomorrow, I don't want her going home alone, someone is to be with her at all times until we catch this guy. For now, everyone get some sleep, we'll regroup tomorrow."

Reid turned off the projector and flicked the switch next to him on the wall, flooding the small room with light. Everyone began getting their things together and slowly exiting the room until Reid was left in the room alone. He flopped into one of the chairs and sighed out loud, resting his head against the back of the chair, then grabbed the copy of _The Conqueror Worm _from the projector and read it over again.


	10. A Hidden Fact and an Unexpected Surprise

"How are you feeling?" Reid asked in concern as Dani winced when she picked up her canvas tote.

"I'm alright. The arm is ok, it's my ribs that hurt. The doctor said I didn't have to wear that stupid sling anymore, so that's good…" Dani replied, trying to keep the conversation light. After yesterday's conversation and the added police officers watching her safety overnight, she had a lot of time to think. They had asked a lot of questions regarding her mother's death years ago, and it all brought back painful memories.

"When did you get clothes?" Reid asked curiously as he pointed to her black jogging pants and white t-shirt. There was a matching black hoody lying on the back of the chair.

"Oh, one of the nurses went out yesterday to the mall a few blocks away and picked me up some clothes. The ones I was wearing when I came in here were all covered in blood… They had to cut them off… Anyways, I couldn't very well walk out here in one of those backless nightgowns, right?" Dani smiled at Reid as she picked up the hoody from the bed.

"No..I..I guess not…" Reid stammered at the thought and felt his cheeks heating up. "Um, so you're ok with getting out? I mean, just because they discharge you, doesn't mean that…"

Dani's smile contorted into a look of pain as she pulled the sweater on, then covered it back up with a shaky smile. "I know. I'm ok though, and plus I don't think I could stay in here much longer. I hate hospitals."

Reid nodded in agreement. "So, I've been-, I'm going to take you home and stay with you for today. I mean if that's ok… We want someone with you until we figure this thing out." Reid tried to get his mind back on track by wrapping it back around the task at hand.

"Yeah that's fine…" Dani replied as if she hadn't been listening. Reid watched her struggle with the zipper on her hoody, clenching her jaw every few seconds in pain as she fumbled with it. "Sorry, can you um… Can you help me here?" She let out a soft laugh and gave up with the zipper, releasing it from her grip.

"Oh, sure… Let me just…" Reid pulled his hands from his pocket and bent forward slightly as he grabbed the two sides of the zipper and tried to slide on into the other. He struggled for a few moments and heard Dani laugh softly from above. "It's… It's a lot harder from this angle…" Reid supplied, trying to explain his failings and stopping his own hands from shaking or his cheeks from reddening. Finally he caught it and zipped it up smoothly.

"Thanks." Dani smiled at him again and grabbed her tote with her good hand. "Ok, let's get out of here."

Once Dani was cleared and finished with the final forms for the hospital at the front desk, they finally stepped outside into the parking lot.

"Feels good to finally be outside." Dani stated as she squinted her eyes from the bright sunshine.

Reid didn't say anything, but pointed to the black SUV parked to Dani's right and pressed a button on his keys to unlock the doors.

"Wow, nice ride…" Dani said. Reid walked to the passenger's side and opened the front door for, staying put until she was safely inside. "Such a gentleman…" Dani smiled at him. She had said it in a joking way, but Reid blushed anyways and quickly closed the door as he walked around the back of the vehicle to the driver's side.

"So, uh, Dani, is there anything that happened when your mother was murdered? Were you there when it happened?" Reid asked tentatively after they had been driving for a few blocks in silence. Dani had mentioned a lot of the details following her mother's death, but hadn't explained a lot leading up to it.

Dani continued staring out the window as they stopped at a red light, then slowly turned her head to study her clasped hands laying in her lap.

"Dr. Reid, can I ask you a question?" She asked suddenly and looked up at him. He glanced at her quickly before noticing the light turned green and continued driving.

"Uh, sure. But call me Spencer… The whole 'doctor' thing, it makes me feel old…" He lied. He generally introduced himself as Dr. Reid, after finding out it made people take him more seriously. Everyone's first reaction to seeing him with the team was that he was too young for what he did, no one believed he was good at his job until he proved himself through a case. Introducing him as Dr. Reid got him respect and recognition from the start, but with Dani it felt weird. She was only two years younger than him, two years exact, Reid thought as he remembered they shared the same birthday.

"Are you close with your parents?" Dani's soft voice broke his thoughts and he struggled to focus on driving as his mind processed the question.

"Um, well… With my dad no. He left when I was younger… My mom, I… Yeah I guess I am…" Reid replied. He felt tongue tied talking about his family, but tried to say as little as possible. It was too much to explain everything, he hoped his answer was sufficient.

Dani nodded slowly, "I don't know my dad either. But my mom, well she was the only parent I had and we weren't even that close. With Sophie, they were closer, they seemed to have more in common. I loved her, but… Well you know…" She paused for a moment, waiting for Reid to nod that he understood. He did as they stopped at another red light and Dani continued, "The night it happened… Sophie was at a friend's house for the night. I was at home, I was supposed to go to this party that my friend was throwing, but my mom wouldn't let me go. She didn't want me going anywhere, because she didn't know that friend, she didn't know her parents. Anyways, we got into this huge fight and I ran into my room and slammed the door. After an hour or so, I decided to sneak out to go to the party. I opened my window and went down the fire escape."

Reid listened intently as he drove. He had trouble concentrating on the heavy traffic through downtown Seattle, he felt he should be looking at Dani as she spoke, but he ignored the feeling and kept his eyes on the blue car in front of him.

"It was late when I came home. I climbed up the fire escape and snuck back into my room. I noticed the light still on in the living room from under my door, I remember thinking how weird it was. My mother, she always went to bed at 9pm on the dot. It had to be at least 2am… I opened the door and walked into the living room, when I did, I saw my mom… She was on the floor. There was blood everywhere…" Dani bit her lip as the sight flooded back into her mind. Reid stopped at another red light and took the opportunity to look over at her quickly. Her head was bowed down and she was clenching her fists tightly in her lap. Reid suddenly reached over and placed his hand gently on her forearm, making Dani's face tilt up to look at him, her eyes questioning. Reid snapped his hand back to the steering wheel and pressed gently on the gas pedal after noticing the light had turned green. He hoped his face wasn't revealing his embarrassment as he drove, keeping his eyes locked on the road in front of him.

"That's when I saw him…" Dani stated, making Reid forget his embarrassment and snap his head towards her suddenly.

"What?" He asked before turning his head back to the traffic in front of them, and slammed on the breaks before running into the blue car.

"He was half hanging out of the living room window, he was just leaving I think. The same way I snuck out of my bedroom. He looked up at me briefly, but I ran out of the apartment and banged on our neighbour's door loudly. The let me in thankfully, I didn't even look back to see if he was chasing me. They opened the door and I flew in and closed it behind me then told them to call the police. When the cops came he was obviously long gone…" Dani concluded solemnly as Reid pulled up to the front of her apartment building. As they drove up to it, Dani's eyes lingered on the underground parking garage door. Reid noticed and tried to distract her as he put the vehicle in park and undid his seatbelt.

"Did you see his face at all?" He asked slowly before opening his door.

Dani shook her head, "No… He was wearing one of those toques, the ones that just have eye holes and a mouth hole. I barely looked at him, once I noticed he was there I just… Ran. I left my mom and ran out of the apartment…"

A tear rolled down Dani's cheek and she swiped it angrily away with the back of her hand. Reid's eyebrows knitted with concern, he wasn't sure what he should say. His lack of social skills and lack of experience with women doubted him in these types of situations, not like he'd been in them a lot. He tried to think of something to say, and went with the thing he knew best.

"90 percent of the people who stay at the crime scene right after someone is attacked, gets attacked themselves." He said quickly, making Dani look up at him with her eyebrows raised in question. "There wasn't anything better that you could have done. You went to get help, that's what you're supposed to do." He repeated a little softer this time and reached out to touch her forearm again. Dani half-smiled and nodded slowly, trying to make herself believe that it was true.

After helping Dani step out of the SUV, they unlocked the building's front door and stood in the lobby, waiting for the elevator. Once it arrived, they stepped into it and Dani reached out with her good arm and pressed the button for the 4th floor.

"Hey Spencer?" Dani asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" He asked and nervously glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the numbers above the elevator doors.

"Do you think my mother's death… The way she was… Do you think it has to do with what's happening to me?"

Reid swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat and motioned for her to step into the hall first once the elevator reached the 4th floor.

"We're not sure. But we're trying to cover any possible leads." He answered, hoping it sounded satisfactory. Dani nodded as they stepped in front of her apartment door. She fed the key into the lock and paused as her hand grabbed the doorknob.

"Um, I apologize ahead of time if my place is a mess. I don't remember exactly how I left it…" She mumbled with a smile and opened the heavy door.

Reid just smiled as he stepped in after her and closed the door behind them. His eyes lingered around the front entrance, it was simple but had character. He peeked around the corner and seen a small kitchen, painted a pale green color.

"Ow!" Reid spun back around when he heard Dani and he seen her clutching her ribs painfully. He seen a pile of mail at her feet and bent down to pick it up for her.

"You ok?" He asked in concern. She nodded and accepted the pile of bills from him as she slipped of her shoes. One of the things she liked most about her apartment building was that there wasn't a mailbox she had to stop at every day, everyone's mail was delivered through the slots on their doors. Flipping through the envelopes addressed to her, she stopped suddenly on one that caught her eye. She frowned at the envelope, it had only her name written on the front in black ink. There was no stamp, no return address.

"Uh, Spencer…?" She called out to him as her heart started beating faster. Reid came up to her quickly and looked down at the unmarked envelope in her hands. She dropped the rest of the mail to the floor and looked up at him, her eyes wide with worry, and what Reid could sense, a touch of fear. He grabbed the envelope from her and ripped it open, reading the letter inside quickly, then stared back at Dani.

He swallowed hard before speaking, "Dani, grab some changes of clothes and stuff. You're staying at the hotel with us." Was all he said as he folded the piece of paper up and shoved it back inside the envelope.


	11. A Mother's Daughter

**Nothing really new to say. I wrote this chapter pretty quick, but I hope it sounds ok! Enjoy!**

"Garcia couldn't get a match at all with the victims and Richard Judd. Prentiss and I spoke with him, and his alibis are all clean for the times of all the victims. Do we have any other leads??" Morgan asked, his frustration showing through on his face.

Hotch said nothing, but the stern look on his face explained enough. They couldn't find a solid trail on the unsub, it was one of the most frustrating cases they had taken lately. Prentiss sat silent in the boardroom chair, staring at the few notes on the whiteboard at the front of the room.

"We just have to keep at it. Dani was discharged this morning, maybe Reid will determine something new." Hotch finally concluded, more to himself than the others in the room.

"Well, how do we even know if he was after Dani all along? How can we be sure? What if we're not focusing enough on the fact that this guy just might be choosing his victims at random?" Morgan replied fretfully.

"I think we have an answer to that now…" A voice sounded suddenly from the open doorway behind Morgan. He spun around in his chair to see Reid standing a little nervously in the doorway to the boardroom, with a slightly shaken looking dark haired girl behind him.

"We found a note in Dani's apartment…" Reid continued and handed the envelope to Hotch as he ushered Dani carefully into the room. "Uh, guys meet Dani Lereux."

Dani smiled and waved at the group surrounding the table as Reid introduced her to them and Prentiss stood up to walk over to her.

"Dani! How are you, are you ok?" She asked as she pulled out a chair for Dani to sit down on. "Reid, what's going on?" She looked at Reid in confusion.

"Well, I took Dani home, inside her apartment there was a note on the floor." Reid explained briefly as he pulled a chair on the other side of Dani to sit down in.

"What did it say?" Morgan asked, frowning at the news.

"_Cruel with guilt, and daring with despair, the midnight murderer bursts the faithless bar; invades the sacred hour of silent rest and leaves unseen, a dagger in your breast." _Hotch supplied, reading from the note.

"It's by Samuel Johnson, a famous British author of the 18th century." Reid supplied, then looked briefly at Dani before continuing, "Um, Dani mentioned something on our way to the apartment… When her mother was… Murdered…" Reid said slowly wondering if he should have chose different wording. But when he looked at Dani her face remained blank. "She, um… She saw him leaving through the window. She ran next door and the neighbours called the police, but he was gone by the time they got there."

Reid waited a moment for the news to sink in before speaking up again, "I think… I think the unsub might be the same guy who murdered Dani's mother…" He suggested. Dani flinched slightly at the thought and Prentiss reached over to grab her hand for comfort.

"Are you sure Reid?" Morgan speculated. Hotch was re-reading the note in his hand then looked to the board at the card from the flowers.

"Well, he hasn't attacked since Dani. The flowers with the card, it's the first attempt he has made for communication between any of the victims. The poem seemed to say that he's been watching her for a while now, he could mean since her mother passed away. With the letter, it looks like he feels guilty. Maybe because he failed in… Well, that Dani survived. It mentions that he's desperate now and references a dagger opposed to asphyxiation. I think he's planning to… Um, to…" Reid stammered as he looked at Dani. Her lips were pressed together tightly and she suddenly pushed her chair back before excusing herself out of the room.

Hotch, Morgan and Prentiss looked at Reid, who was staring at the open doorway in confusion.

"Reid, don't you think you should talk about that when she's not around? It's probably a sensitive subject for her…" Morgan accused and waved his arm towards the open doorway.

"Uh, I'll… Uh… Go.. Get her?" Reid's response came out as a question and he quickly flew the room to chase after Dani.

"Ok, so if this guy is the same guy who murdered her mother, why now? If he's doing it because she witnessed him, or thinks she might report it to the police, why do it now? Why didn't he do it right after? It's been what… Nearly seven years?" Morgan wondered out loud as he stood up and closed the boardroom door tightly as he spoke. Prentiss smirked at the motion, knowing Morgan was shutting Reid out to talk with Dani. Even though he didn't admit it out loud, Morgan was always trying anything to help Reid's interaction with women.

"Maybe some kind of accident?" Prentiss suggested, looking at Hotch for confirmation.

"Ok, I think we need to get her mother's autopsy records to see exactly how she was murdered. Morgan, get Garcia on the line and see if she can find any information on the mother's death." Hotch advised. Morgan quickly pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began dialing.

"He's probably well endowed in literature… Look at the references from the attempts at communication. Edgar Allan Poe? Samuel Johnson, an 18th century British author? That's not the type of thing you know off the streets." Prentiss mentioned as Morgan conversed with Garcia from the corner of the room. "He could have just written anything, but he specifically wanted to have this. Remember, the florist said he made him repeat the card five times before he was happy with it."

Hotch nodded, his face serious as he flipped through the papers on the table. "If his mother was murdered seven years ago, we need to determine the MO on her death to help get an approximate age. We also need to look for any major accidents involving the hands or arms, something that would take seven years to heal and make him come back to attack Dani." Hotch agreed, rattling off the semi-profile that was beginning to form.

"Maybe this explains the other victims, each one we thought was getting more personal, but maybe he was just practicing. He finally started using his hands on the third victim, which showed in the following as well. He had to finish them off with a rope or something else to strangle them to death. He could have been making sure he was strong enough on other victims to be sure he could get Dani… He wanted to kill her with his bare hands…" Prentiss rushed as a shudder trembled through her body at the thought.

"Ok, go get Dave and JJ, we're going to need to run this brief with them. See if you can find Detective Morris as well, he might have more information regarding Dani's mother's death. We're going to have to get Garcia to maybe cross reference major trauma to the upper body with literary professors, or people who majored in foreign Literature in college… We'll have a better idea once we can get a close age on the unsub." Hotch advised Prentiss who nodded and quickly left the room.

……………………..

Reid wandered through the front of the Police Station in search for Dani until he finally spotted her outside the front doors. He sighed in relief of finding her, but cautiously moved as he stepped outside.

"You know, you really shouldn't be out here by yourself…" He stated softly and leaned against the brick wall beside her.

Dani looked up at him briefly before focusing back to the ground at her feet, kicking a small pebble with her toe.

"You're here now, aren't you?" She retorted quietly. Reid noticed she was protectively holding her side with her good arm as she avoided his gaze.

"Are you ok…?" He questioned tentatively. It was times like these he wished he had a more intuitive instinct when it came to women. Morgan called him insensitive and as much as he would like to argue that, he couldn't because he wasn't so sure if he was or not.

"I don't like being talked about like I'm a victim. I'm alive, aren't I?" Her voice rose slightly at the end of her question and she bit her lip hard, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to escape. Reid noticed and licked his lips nervously.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't know I was… Making you seem like a victim…" Reid stammered as the heat slowly rose to his cheeks. He was slightly glad Dani wasn't looking at him, she couldn't see how nervous he felt.

"Well, you were…" Dani mumbled and kicked at another imaginary rock in front of her. She sighed heavily and looked up at Reid. She felt guilty for a moment after seeing the look on his face, almost as if he disappointed himself. He was the one staring at the ground now, his hands placed nervously in his pockets as he thought.

"I'm sorry." Dani apologized quickly after seeing the look on his face. "I… It's hard. Bringing back memories of…" She let the sentence hang there and watched as Reid nodded, seeming to understand.

"I didn't mean to make you as a victim. Sometimes I don't think. I may be intellectual and book smart, but I'm kind of lost when it comes to other peoples' feelings…" He shrugged a shoulder and smiled shakily while keeping his gaze focused on the cement beneath him. "If I do it again, you're welcome to hit me."

Dani laughed as his suggestion and whacked him in the arm with her left hand, then cringed at the shock of pain that rippled to her right rib cage.

"Yeah, like that." Reid smiled at her as she clutched her right side and glared at him. "Only, you'll have to suffer the after effect if you do."

Dani frowned at him and pushed him playfully as she nestled her casted arm to her side, in effort to protect it. "Thanks a lot…" She mumbled as a smile crept across her face through the pain.


	12. Nightmares

**I kind of wrote this chapter differently than I originally planned. I hope it sounds ok. Also, if anyone has any suggestions of what they would like to see happen, let me know! I will definitely take ideas into consideration!  
-Reviews happily welcome!**

"Dani, you can stay with Emily in her room. Reid is staying in the room next door, there is a connecting door between you guys. JJ and Morgan are across the hall and Dave and I have the adjoining room to theirs." Hotch explained softly to the younger woman as he and Prentiss escorted her down 10th floor hallway of the slightly expensive looking hotel.

Dani nodded and slowed to a stop once they reached the proper rooms. Rossi stepped out of the hotel room he was sharing with Hotch and greeted the three with a small smile.

"Try to get some sleep, Dani." Aaron Hotchner advised as he gave Dani's shoulder a small squeeze. He was about to turn around to settle into his own room for the night, but Dani reached out and touched his arm causing him to turn back to face her.

"I just want to thank you guys… All of you, for everything… For letting me stay with you…" She admitted sincerely.

"We wouldn't have it any other way." Dave Rossi smiled and reassured her. The two older men said goodnight and retired to their room in hopes for a few hours of sleep before the next morning.

Prentiss led Dani into their room and took her overnight back from her hands to place on the bench across from one of the beds. Dani thanked her as she struggled to slip off her shoes, then sat on the edge of the bed closest to the window. Prentiss didn't admit that it was the bed she had been sleeping on, but noticed Dani uneasily eyeing the door and knew she would feel more comfortable sleeping furthest away from it.

"Emily, can I ask you an honest question?" Dani asked after prying her eyes of the door once Prentiss made sure the deadbolt was secured. She walked over to sit on the other bed to face Dani.

"Of course…" She replied while taking off her shoes and socks.

"Do you really think it's the same guy? The one who… Murdered my mother?" Dani wondered without breaking eye contact.

Emily Prentiss' heart nearly lurched at the question. It was almost like she was looking in a mirror of herself ten years earlier. Ever since she met Dani Lereux, she couldn't help but be completely honest with her.

"I think it's possible." She admitted truthfully. Dani nodded slowly and lowered her gaze to the floor. It was nothing that she hadn't expected, ever since being at the Police Station hours earlier, it had all made sense.

"I don't remember what he looks like. I couldn't see his face…" Dani said quietly. "Is it my fault all those other women are dead?"

Emily's mouth fell open and she instinctively moved to sit next to Dani on the other bed. "Oh, honey, no. Don't even think that. None of this is your fault, ok? You didn't do anything wrong. But we're going to do our best to catch this guy. We just want to see you safe as we do it, ok?"

Dani nodded and gave Emily a small smile. Emily smiled back, then raised her hand to cover her mouth as she stifled a yawn.

"What do you say we hit the hay?" Emily suggested as she stood up and grabbed her ready bag from the foot of her bed. "You need your rest, and apparently so do I…"

Dani smiled again and rose to dig through her own bag for a toothbrush and some pajamas.

…………………………………………………………………..

Reid sat cross legged on his hotel bed as he leaned against the wall. It was almost midnight, but he couldn't fall asleep yet and decided to read some of the book he had brought in his carry on. He sighed to himself after staring at the red digits on the clock by his bed when a very quiet knock sounded at the door. He frowned, but closed the book and set it on the bed before jumping up to start towards the door. The cautious knock sounded again and he stopped sharply after realizing it was coming from the connecting door between his room and Prentiss' and not the door leading to the hallway.

Taking a sharp left, Reid stopped in front of the adjoining door to listen. He couldn't hear anything and was about to assume he had imagined it, but another tap came from the door. Reid frowned again and turned the doorknob to find the source of the tapping and found Dani standing timidly on the other side, in the dark of the next room.

"Hey Dani, what's up?" Reid asked quietly as he tried to peer into the dark room behind her.

She smiled bashfully and adjusted the black tank top she had on, "I'm sorry to bother you Spencer, but can I come in…?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course. Come on in…" Reid stepped to the side and waved his arm to the room, motioning for Dani to come in.

She smiled gratefully and stepped into the room, her light green pj pants making a hushed swishing sound as she walked.

"What's going on?" Reid wondered out loud as he closed the door. Dani stood in the middle of the room and Reid couldn't help but notice the bulge at her midsection from the bandages protecting where they had to operate on her ribs. She looked at him, her green eyes seeming more vivid in the dim light from the lamp. The bruising around her eye was still very visible, but was beginning to yellow near the edges. Reid guessed it would be gone in about five or six days.

"Well, I couldn't sleep… I was thinking I should maybe call my sister, but I didn't want to do it in there with Emily sleeping. Do you think maybe I could call in here?" Dani gave a sweet smile as she ran her bare foot over the carpet. "I noticed the light was on under the door and assumed you were still awake…"

"Oh, yeah sure go ahead! But don't you think it's a little late?" Reid asked as he remembered it was practically midnight.

Dani laughed suddenly, then clenched her ribs from the pain. "Spencer, my sister lives in Nice… It's like 9am tomorrow morning over there…"

Reid's cheeks deepened in color almost immediately once he realized his own stupidity. "Oh.. Right.. Yeah, go ahead.. I'll just, uh…" He mumbled nervously and motioned towards the hallway door, but Dani stopped him.

"No, Spencer you don't have to leave. Just stay, I'll only be a few minutes… I really don't want to be alone anyways…" She added almost shamefully as she sat down on one of the chairs near the window. Spencer nodded and took a seat back on the bed as Dani picked up the phone and began dialing.

"Bonjour ma tante, c'est Dani…" Dani spoke into the phone a few seconds later. Reid found his previous comfortable position against the wall and grabbed his discarded book to continue reading. He couldn't help but notice that Dani pronounced her name to her aunt "Duh-nee" opposed to the regular "Dahnee". He smiled and frowned simultaneously at the thought and tried to get back to his book while Dani conversed with her aunt and sister in French a few feet away.

About ten minutes later Dani said goodbye to her younger sister and hung up the phone. Reid briefly looked up and smiled awkwardly at her as she remained silent in the chair. She smiled back and stood to make her way over to the bed where she crawled in and leaned against the wall beside Reid.

"Whatcha reading?" She asked as she pointed to the large book in his hands.

Reid quickly closed the book and shrugged, "It's The Pathfinder… By James Fenimore Cooper? It's actually really interesting…"

Dani nodded as she tried to contain the smirk that was daring to display on her face. Reid noticed and quickly changed the subject.

"So, um.. Is that how you're supposed to pronounce your name?" Reid asked her curiously. "Duh-nee…?"

Dani laughed. "Sure, if we were in France. I guess it is said a little differently in French, but Dani is ok too. I don't mind either way, I'm used to it. By the way, nice pronunciation."

Reid smiled shyly and played with the tattered edges of the book. When he didn't say anything, Dani continued.

"Have you ever learned French?" She asked curiously before grabbing the book away from his fiddling hands and tossed it to the foot of the bed. Reid cried in protest at the action, but soon nestled back into his comfortable position.

"Nah… I never really took any languages. Well, there was this one plane ride on the way home from a case and Prentiss tried to teach me some Spanish. She gave up on me pretty quick though…"

Dani giggled at the thought and patted his hand gently. "Well, I think you should try French out. I think you would do pretty well, maybe sometime I will give you a lesson."

Reid smiled as his cheeks flushed, but Dani pretended not to notice as she let out a yawn.

"Well, thanks for letting me use your phone. My Aunt would go crazy if I wouldn't have called her, especially now that she knows what happened. She keeps saying she is going to fly out here, but I told her no, that there's nothing she could do out here." Dani smiled softly, "Goodnight Spencer."

"Night…" Reid replied and stood to let Dani back into her room. Once she was safely on the other side, he closed the door between them, leaving it unlocked and sighed.

………………………………………………

The white halls were almost unbearable as Reid walked quickly down them, following a dark haired man wearing a long white coat that floated behind him as he walked. Reid quickened his step to keep up with him, while the terrible thoughts ran through his head.

"We had to get you down here as soon as we could." The man turned his head slightly so Reid could hear him. "I'm afraid it's taken a turn for the worse…"

They turned sharply to the left, down another long white hallway and came to the only door Reid remembered seeing in the whole building. It was open, and when Reid peered in after the man disappeared into it, he seen a bustle of activity around a small bed. He could see a slippered foot kick into the air and someone struggling beneath them.

Reid gasped and hurried into the room, pushing his way through the men huddled around her, trying to hold her down.

"Mom??" He called out to the frazzled looking woman on the bed. She stopped thrashing and turned to look at him, when she did she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

…

Reid woke with jolt, sitting up like a flash of lightning. His body was damp with sweat and he couldn't seem to catch his breath as his heart raced beneath his chest. He struggled to see through the darkness and raised his hands to touch his face, telling him he was real now. He recognized the red digits on the alarm clock next to him, it told him it was 3:16am. He let out a heavy sigh after recognizing he was in the hotel room and that it all had been a dream.

He was about to lay back down when another scream sounded and something thumped against the wall behind him. He jerked out of bed and his heart stopped after realizing the sound was coming from the girls' room next door.

He sprinted to the connecting door and opened it wide without knocking, and flicked the switch beside him which cascaded light throughout the room. He seen Dani sitting up in bed, her hair tangled around her face and tear streaks down her cheeks, breathing heavily. Prentiss was sitting beside her, comforting her, and Reid let out a mental sigh of relief that no one was being attacked.

"What happened?" He squeaked out through a voice hoarse with sleep and his own nightmare he just endured.

Prentiss looked up at him, "I think Dani had a nightmare.." Was all she said. Dani was hugging her arms to her chest tightly and her face was a mask of fear. Reid walked in further and sat down on the other side of Dani.

"Are you ok? Did you want to talk about it?" Reid asked as gently as he could. A sudden chill shook through his body and he was suddenly very aware of the fact he was dressed only in his boxers and a plain white t-shirt. He fought the urge to run back to his room for a house coat and stayed beside Dani on the bed.

She remained quiet as another large tear spilled over, sliding down her cheek. Prentiss frowned in worry as she rubbed Dani's back trying to comfort her.

"Dani?" Reid nudged again after she didn't respond. "You ok?"

Dani sniffled once and without answering, she collapsed onto Reid, her arms instantly wrapped tightly around his thin waist. He could feel her tears soaking through his thin t-shirt and looked towards Prentiss, his face a huge question mark.

Prentiss shrugged, but held Dani's hand, saying calm, soothing words to her and after a few minutes Reid managed to move his hands to gently rub her back, feeling helpless.


	13. A Hint of Hope

**Disclaimer, sadly nothing new. Please, please, please review! Reviews are fuel for writers.**

Dani sat quietly at the metal table in the small, cold room at the police station. She wrapped her hands around the Styrofoam cup of coffee in front of her in hopes to warm her hands as she lost herself in thought. She hadn't slept much the night before, especially after the terrible nightmare she had had, but Prentiss was kind enough to stay up with her until she finally fell asleep for about an hour before waking up again. By then everyone else was awake and advised it was time to come back to the police station. Dani had quickly obliged, glad to have something to distract her from the images forever flashing in her head.

But now as she sat alone in the silent room, the thoughts were beginning to come back. Prentiss and Reid had been asking her questions all morning, about her mother about what had happened when they first moved to Seattle, about her job at the Language Center. Dani had gave as much information as she could remember, her mother had gone to college while her and her sister Sophie was at school during the day, then her mother worked during most evenings to make enough money for food and rent. Dani was in charge of picking up her little sister every day after school, her mother came home from her Business courses around 5pm, then had to leave for work where she stayed until past midnight.

Dani sighed loudly, which echoed in the small room. She sipped the bad coffee and began to wonder where Reid and Prentiss had gone, wishing someone would be back soon.

…

"Garcia, can you run a search on Seattle Central Community College. We need any type of Literary Professors or students who majored in Literature, possibly Foreign Literature. Time frame anywhere from 7 to maybe 15 years ago" Reid advised the technical analyst from the boardroom where the rest of the team was set up. Dani had mentioned to Prentiss and himself that her mother had gone to that college when they first moved to Seattle, and attended classes there for the four months she had been alive and residing in the city.

"7 to 15 years? You know how many people have taken classes in that time?... Professors will be less, but still…" Garcia mentioned, hinting that Reid was crazy for his request.

Reid sighed in response, "I know, but it's the best lead we've got so far. Please? We'll start there then hopefully by then we'll have more links to narrow it down…"

"Ok, just for you my intellectual cutie. How's our survivor girl doing? Are you keeping a close eye on her?" Garcia teased slightly. It was one of her favourite past times, the young genius was so easy to embarrass and Penelope Garcia like to indulge in it now and then.

"Uh, yeah, I guess… I have to go. Let us know when you have something…" Reid stammered as he quickly hung up the phone, praying to god that his cheeks weren't reddened as he turned around to face the rest of the group.

"Garcia's working on a list." He announced as he picked up the large cup of coffee to take a healthy drink from. After last night he also wasn't able to sleep much after the unfortunate awakening of nightmares. He felt terrible for Dani after seeing her in that state twice now, he wished there was something more he could have done, but his mind was blank in those types of situations. He was immensely glad that Prentiss was there this time.

"Ok, even though Garcia's running her magic through the system, I still want someone to go to the college to speak with some of the senior staff members there, see if they know anything. Rossi and JJ, why don't you go. Morgan, I want you to keep in touch with Garcia, I'm going to make some calls…" Hotch advised before looking at Prentiss and Reid, "I want you guys to stay with Dani, try to work on getting anything she may have forgotten or hasn't told us yet. Don't let her go anywhere by herself, I don't want to risk anything happening…" He left the sentence hang, but everyone nodded in understanding.

They left in their separate directions, Reid and Prentiss being last to leave the room. He looked at his colleague with despair on his face.

"Don't worry Reid, at least now we have some sort of a lead." Prentiss pointed out in hope. "I'm going to go find Detective Morris and ask him some more questions about Dani's mother… You should go back and see how Dani is."

Without saying anything else, Prentiss quickly made her escape out of the room, leaving Reid. He sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair and crossed his arms over his chest as he studied the whiteboard in front of him. After a few minutes, he left the room to get some fresh coffee for Dani and himself, then finally opened the door to the small room they had left her in.

When he had a view of the room, he nearly dropped the coffee in his hand. Dani was slouched forward in her chair, her head was laying sideways on the hard metal table and her eyes were closed. Her casted arm was hanging from her body and something about the position was very wrong.

"Dani!" Reid shouted in panic as he ran into the room and nearly threw the coffee onto the table. He shook her violently as he bent over her, his hand was digging in his pocket to call an ambulance, but Dani suddenly made a groaning noise, followed by a cry of pain.

"Mmm.. Owww.. What are you doing…?" She mumbled through her clenched teeth and opened her eyes slowly as she struggled to sit up from the awkward position she had been in.

"Oh my god, are you ok?!" Reid squeaked, not realizing his hand was still placed on her shoulder.

"Well not anymore after you shook me half to death…" She accused gently and rubbed her side. "I guess I fell asleep…"

Reid let out a heavy sigh of relief and fell into the chair beside her. "Fell asleep?" He asked in disbelief. His heart was still beating rapidly inside his chest.

"Yeah, I hardly slept at all last night… Do you think we could go back to the hotel? I'd like to lay down for a bit… Especially now that I think you ripped my stitches out…"

Reid's eyes widened at the thought, "Really? Oh my god, maybe I should take you to the hospital then… If your stitches came out then…"

Dani laughed softly at the panicking man in front of her, "Reid I'm just kidding. Don't worry about it. I would like to go lay down though, if that's ok?"

"Uh, yeah sure…" Reid tried to get his thoughts together before he said anything else stupid. "I can, um… I can take you there, let me just tell Prentiss where we're going…"

Reid quickly spun around and walked down the hallway to find Prentiss.

…………………………………………………………

"Thanks for taking me…" Dani thanked Reid as the stepped into the safety of her and Prentiss' shared hotel room. Reid gave a small smile as he closed the door behind him and gently turned the deadbolt to lock it.

"I'm sorry if I'm being a pain… I wish I could help more, but I don't think I could be much help right now…" Dani apologized again as she sat down carefully on the made bed.

"Don't worry about it. You need your rest." Reid advised and unhooked his gun holster to set it on the table . He moved slowly and almost awkwardly as if he didn't know what to do now. First he moved to the other bed, then to the window to stare out to the city.

Dani laid down on the edge of the bed, her back facing Reid. "I'm kind of glad it's you who's always with me…" She said so quietly, Reid assumed he had misheard her, but his cheeks flushed nonetheless.

"How come…?" He finally spit out and turned to face her still form, still facing the other direction.

She attempted a shrug, "I don't know. Aside from the shyness and the fact you need to unwind a bit…" Reid made a slight protest at the accusation, but couldn't seem to move from his position by the window. "I don't know, I just feel safe around you, I guess…"

Reid let the thought sink in and felt a smile spread across his slightly pink cheeks. He refused to believe it, everyone always felt much safer around Morgan or Hotch, they were more aggressive and more 'manly' to feel safe around. Reid had always looked at himself as a nerdy weakling, like he had been teased about most of his life.

"Wh-… Why do you say that?" He asked curiously and took a few cautious steps towards her. He was biting his lip nervously and his hands were in his pockets as he stood on the other side of the bed.

He couldn't see the smile that splayed across Dani's face at his self-conscious questions.

"Don't ask questions, Spencer." She replied, her eyes were already closing from exhaustion. "Can you just sit next to me while I try and get some sleep? Please?"

Without saying a word, Reid slid slowly on top of the made covers and rest his back against the hard wall behind him. He had a lot more going through his head then the case they had been working feverishly on for the last couple of days.

…….

About half an hour later, Spencer Reid was in the exact same position. His head was leaning back against the wall and he hadn't realized his eyes were closed until the phone ringing beside him made him jump and he quickly looked beside him only to see Dani's fragile body moving slowly with each breath she took. The hotel phone rang again and he quickly reached over to the nightstand to answer it before the noise woke Dani up.

"Hello?" He answered quietly into the receiver.

"Hi, this is Denise Stein from the front desk, am I speaking with Agent Spencer Reid?" The hotel employee asked cheerfully from the other end.

"Yes…" Reid replied in confusion. He slid off the bed, careful not to disturb Dani's slumber.

"Ok good. Is there a… Dani Lereux staying with you, Mr. Reid?" The woman asked.

Reid frowned in concern, no one knew Dani was staying with them, it was something they had kept just between the team and Morris.

"Why?" Was Reid's only response. He couldn't help it, but his heart began to beat harder in his chest as he waited for the woman to answer.

"Well, we just received a letter for a Dani Lereux. It's marked on the envelope that she's staying in room 1006. We rang the room, but when no one answered, we tried 1004 knowing that another member of your team was staying in the connecting room next to you." The woman explained.

"I'll be right down." Reid answered quickly and hung up the phone. Looking at Dani's sleeping form on the bed, he felt a sick feeling begin to rise in his throat at the thought of the letter that awaited them downstairs.


	14. The Messenger

**Apologies to **_**Vanillastar**_** for posting chapters so fast! But I'm glad you're liking the story so far. I'd also like to send a thanks to **_**Sue1313**_** who has been a devoted reviewer since the beginning. You rock!  
I forgot to mention in the previous chapter, the college I've referenced in the story IS in fact a college in Seattle, however I have no idea if they have Business or Literature classes. I'm sorry if that information is false, but I needed a school to reference for that purpose.  
AND I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to my fellow Canadians!  
Now, on with the story! (Don't forget to review! Please…)**

"Dani…" Reid called quietly as he shook her carefully, trying to prevent another episode like the last time he woke her up. She moaned quietly in her sleep and rolled onto her back, but didn't open her eyes. "Dani… Dani…" He called over and over again.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, grabbing her ribs from the sudden pain that shot through her body.

"Dani, it's ok! It's just me…" Reid tried to say calmly. Dani blinked a few times as she stared at him with wide eyes and a frown.

"Spencer..?" She asked groggily. He nodded and she let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. "You scared me…"

"Sorry…" Reid apologized, "Um, Dani we need to go downstairs. I need to get something from the front desk…"

Dani looked at him in confusion as she pushed herself to a more comfortable sitting position. "Why can't you go and I stay here?"

"Uhhh… You can't." Reid protested as his cheeks began to blush. He didn't feel like he could lie to her, but he didn't want to worry her that the unsub may know where she was staying, and very well could have been in the hotel.

"Spencer… What's going on?" Dani demanded. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and ran a hand through her dishevelled hair. She looked at Reid and noticed him glance down at her chest with an embarrassed look on his face.

Dani frowned, but couldn't help the amused smile that found itself play on her face. "Spencer, what the hell are you looking at?" She accused quickly. Reid looked up at her, his eyes widened and he spun around quickly, holding an arm up to cover his eyes.

"Sorry! You, um.. You're…" He stammered feverishly as he waved a blind hand towards her chest. "Sleeping.. Must have… Uh, showing…"

Dani frowned in more confusion at his mess of words, then looked down at her chest. During her short nap, she must have turned a lot because her tank top was twisted and somehow got pulled over, showcasing her white bra underneath. It was only pulled so that half of the white cup was showing, but she yanked her shirt back in place and laughed out loud at Reid.

"Sorry, I didn't know I was giving you a free show. I usually charge for stuff like that…" She joked, which embarrassed Reid even more. He hadn't turned around to face her yet, he was standing near the tv strapping on his gun holster.

"You.. Um…" Reid closed his eyes briefly and shook his head to get his thoughts back in order. Grow up, he thought to himself, so what, it's a bra… It's a piece of clothing, not like you seen her-

"Spencer, it's ok. Don't worry about it, it's no big deal, ok?" Dani's words broke his thoughts and she stood up to walk in front of him so he would look at her.

He nodded quickly and securely fastened the holster strap. "Listen, we… We have to go downstairs…" Dani remained standing in front of him. He had to tell her the truth. "There's a letter at the front desk, it's addressed to you. No one knows you're here…"

Dani frowned at the information, then her eyes widened as her mind processed what he was saying.

"He was here?" She asked meekly and stared up at Reid with slight fear and intensity. Reid only nodded slowly. He knew he should be thinking more logically about the situation, he should have been down there already in case the unsub was still in sight. But he couldn't shake the feeling of worry from his body, he had Dani to think about now, he not only had to catch the unsub, but had to protect Dani from him too.

…..

"_There is no happiness without tears; no life without death. Beware, I will give you cause to weep..." _Morgan read the carefully folded piece of paper out loud then looked up at Reid in frustration. "Ok, what the hell does this guy want from her? Why would he be sending stuff like this to the exact place she's been staying? She's only been here for one night, Reid. One night and he knows where she is…"

Reid nodded sadly and looked to his left. Prentiss was standing with Dani near the front doors of the hotel. Dani remained calm, but her face showed a hint of fear and also frustration. Rossi and Hotch were talking with the woman at the front desk and JJ had left quickly to be sure this didn't leak to the press.

"Is this from anything? Did he make it up to scare her? This guy is really getting on my nerves…" Morgan ranted, on the inside he was angry at the fact this unsub was so difficult to get anything on, but he was even more angry at the fact he kept terrorizing a young woman, he feared what may happen next.

"It's a direct quote from Lucian Staniak. He was also known as 'The Red Spider', probably Poland's most prolific serial killer. He was almost like another Jack the Ripper, he mutilated 11 known women in the 1960s, and he actually confessed to killing at least 14 more than that." Reid explained once he pried his eyes away from Prentiss and Dani talking, "He sent frequent letters to the media explaining in detail the acts of mutilations."

Morgan sighed and dropped his arms down to his sides, he was about to say something more when Hotch and Rossi interrupted them.

"They said it was delivered by a messenger, Detective Morris already caught up with him and has him in custody for some questioning at the station right now." Hotch advised, his face more serious than usual. "Reid, Morgan, you two come with me to meet with him, Dave is going to stay here with Emily and Dani, then bring her back to the station. I don't think it's wise to let her stay here, now that the unsub is aware of her whereabouts."

Morgan and Reid followed behind Hotch who was quick to leave the hotel to get in contact with the bike messenger who delivered the letter. Rossi walked back towards the front desk to speak more with the distressed looking woman, who had no idea what the delivery had entailed.

Dani looked up from Prentiss who had been asking her more questions to see the three walking towards the front doors. Reid said something to Morgan and turned to approach the two.

"Spencer, where are you going?" Dani was quick to ask before he had a chance to say anything. Prentiss turned around and soon saw Hotch and Morgan exit the hotel.

"I have to go down to the station, Morris already caught up with the messenger who dropped off the letter. We're going down to ask him some questions." Reid explained.

"Can I go too?" Dani asked, a sudden panic ran through her at the thought of remaining in the hotel where the psycho following her knew she was staying.

Reid couldn't deny to himself that his heart lurched at the look Dani was giving him right now. She looked openly frightened, not something he had really seen so far. Reid had seen her upset and angry through this whole ordeal and she had even teased and joked with him a few times, but fear in her eyes wasn't something he was used to.

"Umm.. Emily and Dave will take you to the station in a little bit. But don't worry, I'll be there when you get there." Reid answered, hoping it was a little bit comforting to her. When she seemed to relax, he let out a small breath and said goodbye before running to catch up with Morgan and Hotch who were waiting in the car outside.

…………………………………………………………………………..

"Who gave you the letter?" Hotch demanded soon into the brief interview with the bike messenger. Hotch and Reid joined the young Jeff Turner in one of the small interrogation rooms at the station, hoping to come up with something to help further them in the case. The young messenger seemed scared to be in custody for something he didn't do wrong, but knew to answer honestly.

"Um, I don't know, he was taller… Probably about 5'10"ish… Dark hair and eyes…" The young messenger explained. "Listen, I didn't do anything wrong ok? All he did was ask me to deliver the letter to the hotel and that there was two hundred bucks in it for me if I did. I didn't have anywhere I needed to be right away, so I took it."

Reid and Hotch listened carefully at every word the man gave. "Did he tell you anything else?" Hotch asked.

Jeff sat in silence thinking for a moment, "Not really… But I did notice that there was no return address on it, just the recipient's name. I asked him who I should say it was from and all he told me was to say it's from an old friend…"

Reid looked to Hotch in surprise at the answer and Hotch nodded in his direction. Reid licked his lips as he thought, they had probably just received a confirmation on the fact that this was the same guy attacking Dani who had killed her mother.

"How old would you say he was?" Reid asked the important question as soon as it popped into his head.

The messenger shrugged, "I don't know… I'd say around 38, 39? I'm not really good with ages…" He admitted sheepishly.

"That's good enough." Reid replied and quickly turned to leave the room. Hotch stayed behind with the messenger to ask him a few more questions, while Reid burst into the room where Morgan and Rossi were discussing the case.

"The messenger just said the guy was in his late 30s…" Reid announced, nearly breathlessly as he interrupted their conversation.

"That means he had to be a professor, there's hardly a chance he was a student at the college." Rossi thought out loud, but Morgan had already dialled Garcia on the speaker phone.

"You've reached the Woman of All Wisdom, request information and it may be given." Garcia answered quickly on the other line.

"Hey baby girl, how's that list going?" Morgan smiled at her voice and the other two waited patiently for Garcia to answer.

"Ok, listen here handsome, I know I have magic fingers and that I'm, like, only the best analyst out there. But please honey, there are like millions of people you asked me to find for you." She replied in honesty at Morgan's question.

Morgan laughed. "Well sugar, we've got good news for you then. We're looking for a man in his late 30s, which means we need you to find most likely a teacher from the college Dani's mother attended. Anyone who was teaching at the time of Dani's mother's death."

"Also, anyone who has suffered a major accident involving the hands or arms between then and approximately a year ago." Reid quickly added.

"Ok, well thank you for narrowing that list down a bit. I'll have an answer for you soon enough. I'll be in touch. Woman of Wisdom out." Garcia said before they heard the click on the other line.


	15. Rice and Strange Silences

**So this is kind of a "break" chapter just to further the interaction between Reid and Dani. I'd like to thank **_**the last llama, Vanillastar, and Sue1313 **_**immensely for their reviews so far! I appreciate it a lot! Since it is Thanksgiving (Canada), I would like to express that I am THANKFULL for your guys' reviews, it makes me want to write more, and it makes me feel oh so good that you are liking the story so far. Ok… On with it!**

"I never thought I'd be eating Chinese food at un poste de police." Dani mentioned as Reid walked back into the boardroom with a large paper bag filled with food. The rest of the team had dispersed earlier, going to separate locations including the college where Rossi and JJ had gone earlier that day. While Garcia was working through the system, Hotch and Prentiss made their way back to the college to interview some current professors, trying to get a better handle on their unsub.

"Police station…" Dani cleared up for Reid after he had given her a strange look while setting the bag on the table. He nodded and took out a Styrofoam bowl from the bag and handed it to Dani, then pulled another one out for himself. He grabbed some packets of soy sauce and other condiments and placed them on the table.

It was almost 7pm, and when Reid's stomach began grumbling he couldn't help but realize he hadn't eaten since early that morning. Dani quickly agreed to ordering food, seeing as they couldn't leave to eat out anywhere. Hotch had told Reid to stay behind with Dani while the rest of the team went out to investigate, claiming Dani seemed to feel most comfortable around him. Reid agreed, he didn't mind at all and actually found himself becoming more comfortable in Dani's presence as well. He tried to ignore the embarrassing moment from earlier that day when he woke Dani up from her nap. As long as he ignored it, he felt comfortable around her, but it continuously kept creeping back into his mind, where he would awkwardly excuse himself or start rambling on about something regarding the case.

Once again, he forced the image out of his mind and tried to concentrate on the delicious smelling food in front of him. He snuck a glance over at Dani and seen her struggling to position the chopsticks between the fingers on her left hand. They fell from her fingers another time and she sighed in frustration, but picked them up to try again. Reid couldn't help but smirk in amusement at watching her and actually chuckled when one of the chopsticks flew from her hand onto the table and she quietly swore in French.

"You think this is funny, Dr. Reid?" She spat at him, but couldn't help a smile that crept across her face when he shook his head and quickly looked back down to the rice bowl in front of him.

"How is it that you got a fork and I have to try and use these stupid things left handed?" She asked in frustration and plucked the fallen chopstick from the table to attempt it once again.

Reid shrugged, "I always order a fork on the side when getting Chinese food. Let's just say I've tried and failed too many times." He smiled at the thought, the many times his team had ordered Chinese food for a late night dinner while working on a case. Prentiss and JJ constantly laughed at him when he tried to use the ridiculous utensils until he finally gave up and requested a fork for each order.

"Well, normally I'm an expert. With my right hand anyways. Why didn't you think to order me a fork?" She accused him playfully.

Reid covered the embarrassment by taking an overly large bite of the rice mixture and busied himself by chewing. Dani frowned at his lack of response and poked at her own rice bowl with one of the sticks in her left hand.

She let out an exaggerated sigh and looked at Reid with pleading eyes, "Spencer, let me use the fork please? You have a right hand to use, come on give the chopsticks another shot. I know you want too…" She waved the chopsticks in front of him tauntingly, but Reid shook his head from side to side.

"If you wanted a fork, you should have asked for one." He replied with a smile, then took another bite, and chewed with a smile across his face.

Dani frowned at the sight, "Spencer, that's not a way to treat a person who's injured. Have some pity for me, I have a broken arm. And I'm so hungry…" She looked longingly at the mixture of rice and vegetables sitting in front of her.

"Sorry, I'm hungry too." He brushed off, leaving Dani feeling defeated. Suddenly she looked past Reid at the closed boardroom door behind him and frowned.

"Hey, Agent Hotchner is at the door, I think he wants to talk to you." She advised, still looking at the window on the boardroom door.

Reid frowned in confusion and placed his hands on the table to push his chair back. Hotch and the rest of the team had only left about an hour ago, he expected them to be gone for at least another hour. He twisted around in his chair to look at the door, but was quick to find no one was at the window.

"Are you sure it was Hotch…?" Reid asked as he spun back around to face Dani. When he did, he noticed her proudly eating her Chinese food, shoving a mouthful in with the white plastic fork. Reid frowned in confusion and looked down at his own Styrofoam bowl, the two chopsticks sticking straight up in place of his fork.

"Hey!" Reid accused and looked at Dani, who only smiled back at him.

"You snooze, you lose Doctor." She replied boldly, smiling through the large mouthful of rice. Reid whined slightly, but soon left to the small coffee room down the hall where he knew there were plastic spoons. He came back a few minutes later and ate with his substitute fork in accomplishment.

"Dani, have you ever noticed anyone following you, or maybe repeatedly bumping into you?" Reid asked to break the silence. The case remained heavily on his mind, and after his mind trailed back to the episode earlier that day, he brought up one of the things that could erase it briefly from his mind. "I mean, the unsub, it seems like he's been watching you for a while..."

Dani looked up from her food, her eyebrows raised in question. She finished swallowing and wiped her mouth with the napkin beside her before replying. "No, I haven't… Spencer, I've already gone over this a hundred times, can we please talk about something else?" She asked quickly. She looked down at her food, poking at it a few times. Reid noticed her pulling back slightly at the question and he immediately felt stupid for asking it. Of course someone had already asked her that, he probably had asked her it himself already, but he tried to think of something else to change the subject.

"Um, so what's Nice like?" He asked, feeling stupid again almost as soon as the question escaped his lips. He tried to cover it up by taking another mouthful of food.

Dani laughed softly, "It's alright. Almost a French version of Seattle I guess. It's gorgeous over there in the summer. I kind of miss it sometimes, I've gone back probably twice a year since I've moved, to see my sister and my aunt."

Reid nodded, trying to pay attention to her words. "Where did you grow up?" She asked curiously.

"Las Vegas." Was Reid's short reply. He didn't really explain any more, and kind of hoped she wouldn't ask him any questions regarding his family or his life growing up there. It was something he hadn't shared with a lot of people. He was lucky though because suddenly Dani laughed.

"What?" Reid asked in confusion. He didn't find anything that funny about Las Vegas, but she smiled at him anyways.

"It's almost like were practically on a date. Chinese food for two, talking about ourselves, in this… Romantic setting of a room…" She waved her casted arm sarcastically around the small hole of a boardroom, the whiteboard was practically filled with black and red writing, and ghastly pictures of previous victims taped on the wall beside it.

Reid's eyes widened at the impossible thought and he nearly choked on the piece of broccoli that lodged itself in his throat. "Wh-What?!" He replied, his voice a few octaves higher as he coughed into his hand.

Dani laughed out loud at Reid's response, "Spencer, I'm joking!" She said through the laughter as he calmed down and took a large drink from the bottle of water.

"Very funny…" Reid mumbled before taking another drink of water. He looked at Dani over the bottle and seen her eyes light up as she laughed at him. The tears that welled up in her eyes as she laughed seemed to make her pale green eyes even more translucent and Reid had to pry his eyes away as he drank, his cheeks suddenly turned a light shade of pink after he had realized he'd been staring. When he put the bottle down and began twisting the cap back on, he glanced at Dani briefly again and noticed she was staring right back at him.

"What…?" He asked nervously, wishing the pink out of his cheeks, knowing it was probably visible to her. He cursed himself at being so nervous around women, at acting so embarrassed most of the time when in the same room as a beautiful girl. He often wished he was more bold and carefree like Morgan.

"You have, um… Something on your face…" Dani replied through her smile and pointed at something near his mouth. Reid swatted lightly at his left cheek as his cheeks deepened even more in color, hoping he got whatever it was off his face.

Dani laughed, "Nope, it's still there." She said and pointed closer to his face. Reid grabbed his napkin and wiped his mouth roughly, wondering if there was a more embarrassing moment that could have happened to him while alone with a woman.

"Gone?" He squeaked, praying that whatever it was on his face had rubbed off on the napkin, but Dani's amused smile told him otherwise. She laughed again and held her hand out towards him.

"Come here…" She waved her hand for him to come closer.

Instead, Reid frowned and wiped his face again with the overused napkin, missing the piece of rice that was ignoring his attempts and remained on his face. Dani frowned in frustration.

"Oh for god's sake, Spencer come here." She cried through her amused smile, but slid her chair around the corner of the table and stopped beside him. She reached out and grabbed the piece of rice from the corner of his lip and smiled at him.

"See?" She held up her finger to display the grain right in front of his face, which Reid immediately slapped at, the piece of rice disappearing on the table. Dani laughed softly, his cheeks were still flushed from the predicament, but Dani couldn't help but laugh harder.

Reid frowned at her and pushed her carefully on the arm from the taunting, which only made her push him back. She raised her left hand again, reaching for his cheek in attempts to pinch it, but he quickly slapped her hand away.

"Go away! It's gone now, shoo, shoo!" He cried as he held his hands up in front of his face, protecting it from her prying ones. She finally stopped and set her hand in her lap, her laughing had died down and Reid slowly lowered his hands, eyeing her suspiciously incase she tried something else. She kept her eyes on him, the soft smile still plastered on her face and Reid found he couldn't look away from her piercing green eyes. He was suddenly too aware how close she was sitting now, he could practically feel the warmth from her leg resting so close to his.

He swallowed nervously, realizing his throat had suddenly become too dry. He wanted to reach for the bottle of water on the table but felt almost paralyzed. He seen Dani bite her bottom lip as if lost in thought, and he swallowed again, trying to rid himself of the lump that had formed in his throat. Dani started to lean forward slightly and Reid's eyes widened, but he didn't find himself pulling away. He felt her hand touch his knee gently, and it quickly tingled under her touch. He could feel the heat radiating from her hand and he tore his eyes away to quickly look down at her small hand resting on his leg.

When he looked back up at her, his heart was racing wildly in his chest and the embarrassment from moments earlier was forgotten as he found himself moving, very slowly, very cautiously, towards her. Her green eyes softened as she looked at him, slightly questioning, her face only inches away from his own. Her eyes glanced downwards at Reid's lips momentarily and Reid's heart stopped at the irrational thought that he was about to be kissed. His mind was about to panic and his palms were beginning to sweat, but suddenly the high pitched sound of his cell phone went off loudly and Reid jumped backwards and stood up at the same time. He snatched his cell phone from the table beside the forgotten Chinese food, dropped it, and picked it up again nervously.

"Reid." He answered, his voice tight and slightly squeaky as his face blushed wildly. He dared to glance over his shoulder at Dani, she was facing the table again, her eyes were wide and he thought he seen a hint of red showing on her cheeks. She stared at the table, trying to busy herself again with the food in front of her, and didn't look up at the lanky man standing with his hand nervously on his hip, the other one holding his cell phone up to his ear. He swallowed roughly, wondering what had just happened, or didn't happen, or would have happened if… He let the thoughts trail wildly in his mind as he waited for the person on the other line to answer.

"Reid, it's Morgan. Listen, we've just found another victim… Morris got the call a few minutes ago, there's a note on the body…" Morgan's voice pounded through the other line and Reid's former embarrassment was suddenly forgotten as he tried to process what Morgan has just said.


	16. Another Victim?

**I was quite upset to find that CM was a rerun (or not on at all) tonight. Stupid elections! Anyways, it made me write a chapter so I guess all is good. Happy reading.  
Please review! For the love of god review!! (Maybe I'm over exaggerating here, but I do like the reviews!) And again, ideas, comments, thoughts are all welcome!**

Dani sat silently at the large table, staring down into the half eaten bowl of Chinese food. She was biting her bottom lip, her mind frantically trying to recall the strange silence that she had just encountered with Spencer Reid. She wasn't one to blush easily, but she could feel her cheeks heating at the thought and was thankful that Spencer was standing with his back towards her, talking into his cell phone. She could hear his distraught voice, but couldn't pay attention to the words, not after what just happened. Her heart was still beating rapidly from moments before and she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if his phone hadn't rang.

Dani cleared her throat at the thought and seen Spencer glance quickly at her through the corner of her eye, but she grabbed the bottle of water and tried to cover it up by drinking, hoping her cheeks weren't deepening in color as she feared.

She couldn't believe what had just happened… Or was about to happen… Didn't happen? Dani thought to herself, wondering what it all meant. She mentally slapped herself for pondering over a stupid moment so much.

"Grow up…" She muttered to herself as she set the water bottle down and screwed the cap back on.

"What did you say?" Reid suddenly asked, facing her now. Dani looked up, her eyes widened slightly. She hadn't heard him hang up the phone, or say goodbye for that matter. "Oh, nothing… Who was that?" She diverted the question and nodded to the phone he was stuffing back into his pocket.

"Oh, um… That was Morgan, I guess they've found another victim…" He replied awkwardly with a frown, not looking her directly in the eyes. He remained standing and had his hand on the back of his chair.

"Is it…?" Dani feared, not able to finish the question. Reid chewed on the inside of his cheek and nodded at her question.

"They're pretty sure it's the same guy. There was, um… A note on her body…" He explained nervously, unsure if he should be telling her all of this. He didn't want to shake her up anymore than she was and from his questions regarding the case earlier, he didn't think she was up for talking about it right now let alone hearing about the new victim.

Dani shuddered inwardly at the news, a few minutes ago she had completely forgotten about the case, about being attacked, about the nightmares. The silence she had experienced with Spencer only moments ago seemed to have erased it all from her mind, and now it had come back with full force.

"Spencer, sit down, it makes me nervous when you stand like that…" Dani asked, her voice sounded more pleading than she meant it to. Reid didn't waste any time in obeying, she made him nervous enough, but the last thing he wanted was to make her nervous, especially when she was in the situation she was already in.

He sat in the chair he had previously been in, not too long ago. He had pulled it out slightly before sitting down, not sure if he would be able to sit so close to Dani so soon without feeling some kind of electricity tremble through his body once more.

"What did it say?" Dani demanded softly as she brought her eyes up to Reid's. He finally looked up at her, noticing the slight fear in her eyes, but he also seen the determination through it. She was trying not to be afraid, she was trying to face her fears and Reid could identify with it all too well.

"Uhh…" He began, but when his voice cracked he coughed, then cleared his throat before continuing. He wasn't sure this was such a good idea, but he felt that he couldn't lie to her, he couldn't just 'not' tell her. "It was just… Some quote. Again…"

Dani raised her eyebrows and reached out to touch his arm that had been resting on the table. He almost jerked at the motion, but refrained from doing so and stared at her with question. He tried to relax his muscles that had instantly tensed when Dani touched his arm, but he wasn't very successful and struggled to swallow the small lump that seemed to instantly form in his throat when he became nervous.

"Spencer, what did it say?" She demanded again softly as he looked up at him with those green eyes filled with intensity. He remained silent and bit his lip, he couldn't seem to pry his eyes away. "Spencer, please. You can tell me, it's ok."

"It, uh… Morgan…" He stammered, then sighed loudly. "It said _'__One of life's primal situations; the game of hide and seek. The delicious thrill of hiding while the others come looking for you, the delicious terror of-'_"

"Jean Baudrillard??" Dani interrupted before Reid could struggle to remember the rest of what Morgan had told him. Reid instantly stopped and stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open.

"You know who he is?" He asked in disbelief, surprised and frowning at the same time. He knew the name differently, but Dani had pronounced it 'Zhaun Bowdriyard', opposed to his butchered version of it.

"Yeah…" Dani replied, her face almost a mask of Spencer's. "He was this famous French philosopher; he was extremely involved in post modernism…" She couldn't shake the stare she was receiving from Spencer, his jaw was nearly hitting the table from her answer. "What?... I studied him way back in high school, the quote sounded awfully familiar…"

"Oh, uh, no, I mean yeah! I know who he is, I just…" Reid couldn't think what to say as he stammered, the look of surprise still visible on his face. He was clearly impressed that Dani knew Jean Baudrillard, let along recognized the quote before he was finished saying it.

Dani tried to smile at him, she knew how cute he was when he became all nervous and flustered, but at that moment she couldn't seem to acknowledge it. Another person was dead, another person was dead because of her.

"'_One of life's primal situations; the game of hide and seek. The delicious thrill of hiding while the others come looking for you, the delicious terror of being discovered, but what panic when, after a long search, the others abandon you. You mustn't hide too well. You mustn't be too good at the game. The player must never be bigger than the game itself.'" _Dani said quietly, reciting from memory as she stared down at the table in front of her. This shocked Reid even more, he stared at her with wide eyes and almost couldn't believe his ears.

"You, um.. You remember the quote?" He managed to spit out and reached for his water, deciding now he definitely needed a drink of something to quench his dry throat.

Dani smiled almost sheepishly at the look of awe he was giving her, "I had to do this huge report on him. I know, it was like seven years ago, but I kind of enjoyed it. It was interesting I guess… Until now…" She added in horror as she remembered the same quote was just found on a dead body somewhere in the city.

……………………………………………………………………………………

"Cause of death was extreme asphyxiation." The male coroner advised as he motioned towards the young woman's dead body laying on the gurney in front of him. Prentiss and Hotchner had arrived moments ago after finally leaving the crime scene. The body had been found in the back alley of a restaurant, the resemblance between the victim and Dani was uncanny. The woman was roughly the same age, had long dark hair similar to Dani's, and was now laying in front of them, still and white as a sheet.

"As you can see, she was strictly strangled by a pair of hands," The coroner continued as he pointed to the dark marks around the neck. "Finger bruises. He had to of been strangling her for minutes before she finally lost consciousness, and even a good time after that. The lesions on the front of the neck show where he directly pressed his thumbs into the throat to prevent air passing to the lungs."

Prentiss swallowed roughly at the sight in front of her before looking up at the coroner. "Are you sure there wasn't anything else used to strangle her?" She asked, still trying to shake the thought off of someone continuing to strangle a person who was already dead. She had to repeat to herself mentally that the person laying on the gurney was not Dani, no matter the striking resemblance. Dani was safe with Reid at the police station.

"Yes. I'm positive only the hands were used, it was the cause of death. Now, this…" He pointed to the gaping gash on the side of the victim's neck, approximately two inches below the left ear. "This was made post mortem. The object was an eight inch carving knife, found commonly in most kitchens. The note was stabbed onto the victim after death, I found fragments of paper lodged in the wound."

Prentiss and Hotchner nodded at the information and Prentiss looked up at her superior with worried eyes.

"He stabbed the note to the her neck after she was dead…" Prentiss concluded wearily, receiving a nod from Hotch.

"He's getting angry. He wanted Dani, failed, and now he feels she's trying to hide from him. He released his anger on another person as a message, which is obvious from the note he left on the body…" Hotch explained as he took on last glance at the victim before the coroner covered her with the white sheet.

"The note talked about the terror of being found, the ones protecting you abandoning you. It mentioned that you mustn't hide too well. You mustn't be too good at the game." Prentiss recalled. "It's almost as if he's warning her… He's telling her that no matter how much she hides, he'll find her. No matter who she's with. Do you think he'll continue killing in anger until he finds her?" Prentiss asked the terrifying thought. She felt overly protective of Dani for some reason, almost wishing that she had stayed behind with her instead of Reid. It wasn't that she didn't think he would do a good job, she just felt some sort of connection with Dani. She still couldn't shake off the strange, yet familiar likeness between Dani and herself.

"I'm not sure. We have to keep Dani safe, out of the public eye. I don't want to know what this psycho will do if he gets a hold of her…" Hotch replied somewhat angrily. "Morgan, Rossi and JJ are still at the crime scene, they may come up with something more then. In the mean time, go back to the station and make sure Reid and Dani are ok, brief Reid on what's happened. I'm going to stay here and try to get in touch with Garcia to see if she's come up with anything…"

Prentiss nodded, Agent Hotchner was already pulling out his cell phone and was walking away from her. Prentiss let out a large sigh and walked towards the exit doors, wondering when this nightmare was going to be over.


	17. The Kiss

**Ah, It's what you've all been waiting for! This one's quite the cliffhanger, apologies, but please, please, please review and tell me what you think!**

"Detective Morris checked the motel out beforehand." Agent Hotchner advised as they drove. Prentiss sat beside him in the front, and Reid and Dani listened from the back seat of the black SUV. They were following an unmarked car to a disclosed motel, practically on the other side of town from the hotel Dani had stayed the night before. It was night time now, the sky was pitch black, the bright lights from stores and lampposts were almost blinding as they drove by.

"Dani, you'll stay with Emily again, Reid you'll be right next door." Hotch continued after they had stopped at a red light. "There will be a uniformed officer staying on either side of you guys. Morris made sure there were security cameras placed at each entrance and exit, someone will be monitoring them at all times. There's also a security guard at the front entrance, he's been advised to contact us regarding anyone who checks in after you."

Reid stole a glance to his left, seeing Dani quietly nodding at everything Hotch was saying. She had been fairly quiet since earlier, when the new victim had been announced. JJ was feverishly working on keeping it out of the press all night. Prentiss had come in shortly after Morgan called Reid, she pulled him aside to brief him on the quick autopsy and asked how Dani was. He wasn't sure how to reply, and his cheeks had turned an interesting shade after Prentiss had asked the question. She hadn't said anything, only looked at him with slight suspicion every now and then until Hotch and the rest of the team finally arrived at the station.

"The rest of us are going to stay at the hotel we were at. If the unsub thinks Dani is still staying there we want to be sure someone is on site in case he tries anything else. The front desk has been alerted to contact us with any suspicious activity or requests." Hotch continued on as he drove.

Dani tried to listen to what the dark haired agent was saying in front of her, but her mind kept falling back to the fact another person was dead. She had heard Emily earlier, telling Spencer the striking resemblance between her and the victim, and also noticed them glance quickly over to her. She had pretended not to hear, but the thought had been all too chilling to be real.

"We're here." Suddenly Hotch stopped the vehicle and stepped out. Dani struggled with her seatbelt, it was difficult, seeing as the clasp was on her right and she was trying to press the button unsuccessfully with her left. Reid stopped, he was half hanging out of his side of the vehicle, but he reached over and pressed the release button on her seatbelt for her. She looked up and gave him a relieved, thankful smile and turned to step out, reaching for Agent Hotchner's awaiting hand to help her out.

"We've already spoken with the owners, they know you're FBI agents and officers of the Police Department. We haven't mentioned the case, but they've been advised not to let this information out to anyone." Detective Morris spoke as they walked up to the entrance of the single story Motel. There were no private entrances to the outside, Dani noticed thankfully. They had to enter through the main entrance and all the separate rooms had doors leading to the hallway. She felt a little uneasy that there was only one level to the motel, therefore they had to stay on ground level, but the fact that no one could get in from outside was a small relief.

"Thanks…" She said to Agent Hotchner as he picked up her overnight back for her and they entered the Motel.

……………………………………………………………………………….

Dani laid awake, staring up at the rough ceiling of the motel room. It was barely visible to her, the room was nearly pitch black due to the drawn heavy curtains. Dani requested them to be closed and Emily wasted no time in agreeing. She didn't mention it to Dani, but she had an unsettled feeling whenever windows were uncovered during the night. It was something about people being able to see in through the darkness of outside that bothered her since she was a child.

They had stayed up for a while talking. Dani was asking questions about the last victim, about the progress on finding this man until Emily could see how much it was taking out of her. She had changed the subject, asking about her sister and her aunt who remained in Nice. Dani explained to her that her Aunt was her mother's older sister and that she had taken her sister Sophie in quickly after her mother's unfortunate death, but Dani refused and wanted to stay in Seattle. Sophie was seven years younger than Dani, and at 17 she was in her last year of high school. They chatted for a bit, until Dani had to obey her body telling her it was time to lie down and rest. Emily had quickly agreed, mentioning that they both needed some sleep and turned in.

Now, Dani still laid awake, unable to close her eyes without seeing the terrible images. She couldn't fall asleep and after glancing at the alarm clock beside her, she realized she had been laying in bed silently for over an hour. Emily was snoring softly in the bed next to hers and Dani couldn't help but smile, wondering if anyone else on the team knew she was a snorer.

One thought kept creeping into Dani's mind, no matter how much she tried to think of something else. She debated waking up Emily, but decided against it after seeing how soundly she was sleeping and carefully lifted the covers from her own body. She swung her legs over the bed, debated putting her shoes on, but decided against it. She tiptoed away from her bed and slowly unlocked the deadbolt on the door, opening it quietly in efforts not to wake Emily from the noise.

She walked into the brightly lit hall and looked both ways to be sure no one was around, waiting for her around the corner. When she was sure the coast was clear, she stepped out and went to the room next to theirs, then quietly knocked on the door.

It took Spencer a few minutes to answer, when he did he was slightly bleary eyed, but was still wearing his pants and undershirt, one sock was still on his foot, but the other had been discarded somewhere. Dani nearly smirked at the sight, but Spencer quickly motioned her inside before locking the door behind them.

"Dani, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be out by yourself…" He tried to scold, but it came out more concerned than angry.

"I walked four feet to your door, it's not like I was wandering aimlessly in the streets…" Dani replied shortly as she walked to Spencer's window. The blinds were not drawn and she stared openly out onto the dimly lit streets, noticing that it was lightly raining outside.

"Are you ok?" Spencer asked. He was wide awake now after unintentionally dozing off a few minutes ago. He was vaguely aware that he was only wearing one sock, but didn't pay attention to it as he cautiously made his way towards the girl standing near his window. Her tone was distracted, he knew there was something on her mind and for a second, he was afraid she was going to bring up the moment they had at the station.

"Yeah… Maybe…" Dani sighed loudly, finally prying her eyes away from the window. "I don't know." She admitted and leaned her back against the small table placed to the left of the window.

Spencer walked up to her and studied her face in the dim light coming from the small lamp on the night table. She looked distressed, lost in thought about something. He raised his eyebrows at her in question, not really sure how to reply.

"Spencer, I need to ask you something." She finally said and looked at him in the eyes. "And I want you to be honest…"

He nodded slowly as he swallowed the familiar lump that formed in his throat again.

"This guy isn't going to stop until he finds me, is he?" Dani questioned quietly. She looked up at him, her eyebrows were knitted together in worry, and as Spencer guessed maybe even fear.

His heart tugged slightly as he stared at her. The bruise was more visible than earlier because of the dim light and he guessed she hadn't gotten much sleep the last couple days. He felt for her, she looked exhausted, scared and a little bit angry.

"I..." He tried to think of a comforting answer, it wasn't something he was used to saying. "I don't know." He finally replied with a half shrug.

Dani nodded slowly as she bit her bottom lip, she hadn't been expecting a decisive answer, she wasn't quite sure exactly what she had expected for that matter.

"Spencer, is everything going to be ok?" She asked. She hated seeming fragile, she hated the fact that she needed reassurance, and she hated that she had to ask him.

"Yeah… Of course it will be." Spencer replied sincerely. He had to believe it himself or else it would never come out believable. But he truly believed everything would be ok, he wanted Dani to be ok even more. "Don't worry, we'll find him first."

Dani nodded, accepting his answer, but she still couldn't shake the uneasiness off. A long silence followed where neither of them said anything. Reid wished he could think of something more comforting to say, but he remained standing, fidgeting with the pockets on his brown corduroys. He studied Dani, she remained leaning against the hard chair, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She stared at the floor to his left and seemed to be biting the inside of her cheek. Reid was caught off guard when she suddenly looked up at him. His eyes widened slightly and he gave a tight smile while shifting his eyes away from hers, he had the odd feeling of being caught.

She gave a half smile back, even though Spencer seemed to be completely nervous at the moment, she felt completely the opposite. Something about him made her relax, his awkward behaviour had an odd comfort to it for her.

"…Would you mind…?" Reid glanced up quickly at Dani as she broke the silence. She shrugged a shoulder and held out her arm, the un-casted one, motioning for a hug. Reid raised his eyebrows at the request.

"Oh, uh… Sure, no… I mean, I don't mind…" He stammered as he pulled his fidgeting hands from his pockets. Dani smiled and leaned into him, wrapping both arms around his thin frame. Reid hesitated for a moment before gently setting his arms around her shoulders. He gave a small squeeze and then left his arms draped around her frail body.

Her head was pressed against his chest, she was at least a foot shorter than he, and he suddenly got a scent of her hair. A mix of vanilla and something fruity, most likely from her shampoo, Reid tried to think something logical as he felt Dani's grip tighten around his waist. He swallowed roughly and rubbed her back quickly before they pulled apart. He wasn't sure who began to pull apart first, but before he could debate the difference he looked down to Dani who was already on her toes, seconds later her lips were pressed against his own.

Reid's eyes widened wildly as he felt the warmth of her soft lips on his, the shock was overwhelming and it took a few seconds for it to sink in that he was being kissed. He wasn't sure when, but he felt his eyes slowly close and felt Dani's arms slip slowly back around his waist. The motion rocked his conscience back to him and he pulled back quickly.

"Uh, I.. We… Um, we shouldn't…" He stuttered mindlessly, purposely avoiding Dani's eyes. He knew if he looked at her, he might lose his mind and his willpower, so he kept moving his eyes to different objects around the room.

"Ok…" Was all Dani replied, but when she looked up at Spencer he was blushing furiously and biting his lip nervously as his eyes cast downwards. She stayed silent for a moment, an awkward silence followed and Reid struggled to set his mind straight, to say something, anything to cover up his embarrassment and obvious lack of experience with women.

He opened his mouth to say something most likely some statistical comment, something he had always done when severe nervousness hit him. The first thing that came to mind was cold sores, and when he went to openly state a fact about them, he felt Dani pulling on the front of his white undershirt, pulling him gently towards her. When she drew him close enough that his face was inches away from her own, she stopped, keeping a firm grip on his shirt.

Spencer Reid froze. He could feel her soft breath on his face and made the mistake of looking into her translucent green eyes. Suddenly he felt as if he was lost and couldn't resist as she leaned forward easily and pressed her lips to his again. Reid closed his eyes, losing himself in the feeling of her lips against his, suddenly moving so gently, so cautiously. He vaguely felt Dani release her grip on his shirt, and her left hand crawled up his chest up to his cheek, leaving a trail of tingling skin behind. She laced her fingers through the hair on the back of his head as the kiss deepened, becoming more passionate.

Reid silently sent a thanks to above, glad he didn't get a chance to inform her on cold sores, and to his own surprise he felt his own hands moving upwards to cup the sides of her face gently. All previous thoughts were lost in a spiral of darkness, the fact he was an FBI agent was lost somewhere amongst the rest. His heart was beating wildly inside his chest, but he couldn't pay attention as he felt Dani's tongue hesitantly enter his mouth.

Just then a loud crash sounded behind Dani. She pulled from Reid at lightning speed and screamed loudly at the same time, her hands flying up to cover her ears. Reid's mind came rushing back to him at the force of a locomotive and he stared behind Dani to the uncovered window that had just been broken. He frowned quickly, trying to recover what had just happened, but more of why the window had been shattered.

"What the hell is-" Dani screamed as she pointed down towards the floor. Among the broken pieces of glass was a metal, tubular looking object with small red lights on the face of it. Reid barely seen the coloured wires on the end and his eyes quickly went wide as he placed the object in his head.

"A BOMB!" He shouted loudly, interrupting Dani before she could finish her question.


	18. Explosion

**I'm thinking there may be only a few chapters left on this guy, but never fear, for I have ideas coming together for Part deux (part 2!). I'm a little excited actually, for the second part to this story. It will be a little interesting to say the least. But enough about that, we'll cross that bridge when we get there!  
Thanks for reviewing (a VERY special thanks to Sue1313 and the last llama, who make my day every time!). As always, please review and let me know what ya think!**

"RUN!"

Dani couldn't register her brain as Reid shouted. Her eyes were focused intently on the strange object at her feet, surrounded by a pile of glass, its tiny lights blinking. _What in the hell is-_

She didn't have time to finish her thought because Reid had suddenly grabbed her roughly by her good arm, yanking her towards the door. She vaguely noticed him grabbing his gun holster from the night stand and the next thing she knew, she was being shoved into the hallway, Reid screaming at her to run as he smashed the fire alarm In between their motel room doors and pulled it.

An ear piercing bell began ringing all around and Dani lifted her hands to her ears, trying to block out the noise. Reid grabbed her again and began sprinting down the hall, but Dani stopped suddenly and yanked her arm free.

"Dani, what are you doing?!" He shouted over the ringing, but Dani didn't comprehend as she shoved open the door to her and Emily's room. Prentiss was already standing by the bed, her pyjamas ruffled from sleep, looking confused.

"It's a bomb!!" Reid yelled from the doorway, motioning for Prentiss to get a move on. Dani was already on her way out the room, having grabbed her and Emily's bag. She heard Emily curse and grab her gun from the foot of the bed, and together they began running down the hallway to the front doors. Reid was pulling every fire alarm on the way and once they were at the front entrance, Emily ran out, but Reid was about to run right past it.

"Spencer!" Dani called as she hesitated at the glass doors. He motioned down the other hallway, Dani could only catch him saying something about "others", but she ran towards him and pulled him hard towards the door. He hesitated for a moment, but realizing that they may not have time, he ran out the front doors, pulling Dani behind him.

Dani just felt the coolness of being outside, she barely had time to register that it was still raining lightly when the loud blast suddenly roared from behind and she was abruptly thrown to the wet ground.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Reid groaned loudly as he rolled onto his back. He could feel light flecks hitting his face and for a second it was almost soothing, until he remembered why he was now laying on the wet grass. He shot up in an instant and looked around, he could see the building in front of him, the motel. The right half was smoking and he could see flames billowing out of a couple windows.

"Shit." He cursed and stood up, ignoring the ache in his legs. He surveyed the ground around him and seen a few people walking towards them, the sudden blast had stopped a couple people passing by. Reid looked to his left and seen Prentiss slowly standing up, holding her back as she did. In between them, he saw Dani laying on her stomach, hers and Prentiss' bags that she was carrying were tossed carelessly ahead of where they had landed.

"Dani!" He called and ran over to her. The rain had matted his hair to his forehead and he angrily swiped it back as he fell to his knees beside Dani, calling her name out over and over. He managed to roll her over and seen the wince of pain fly across her face even though her eyes were shut tightly.

"What happened…?" She groaned and brought a hand to her forehead in efforts to stop whatever kept dripping on her. Her head ached and she could hear a strange crackling sound in the background, along with people yelling.

Reid didn't answer her question, he seen the front of her pale tank top, it was saturated with blood just below her chest.

"Shit…" Reid cursed again and lifted her shirt just high enough to see that the incision from her operation days before had been ripped open slightly, the blood was pouring out slowly, but he could see few stitches that were still intact.

"Oh my god…" Reid looked up to see Prentiss standing above them, staring at the motel. She already had her cell phone opened and kneeled to Dani's other side as it rang in her ear.

"This is Special Agent Emily Prentiss from the FBI. There's been an explosion at Camden Motel, south 54th Ave, 149st. We need EMS and back up." She shouted into the phone before hanging up.

"Dani… Dani? Are you ok?" She asked as she pulled Dani's shirt higher to see the source of the bleeding. She cursed under her breath and unbuttoned the flannel top of her pjs, then pressed the already wet garment onto the wound to slow the bleeding. The rain was cold on her bare skin now that she was only in a tank top, but she could handle it. She couldn't think of herself as her mind was clouded with what had just happened.

……………………………………………………………………………..

"Emily's going with her in the ambulance, Morris has got half his crew combing the surrounding area for the perp who through the bomb, I can only assume it's the same person." Hotchner said tightly to Reid. The rest of the team had showed shortly after the ambulance and fire department arrived, relief had swooned over them after seeing their fellow teammates were safe, along with Dani who would only need to get some stitching redone at the hospital.

"I was thinking of going with them to the hospital-" Reid started quietly as he motioned towards the ambulance where Dani was being loaded into, followed by a shaken looking Prentiss.

"No, we're going to need you here to go over what happened. We couldn't have expected this, we had no idea he would go this far…" Hotch said angrily to himself as he stared at the half charred hotel scene in front of them.

"I lost one of my men. Anderson, he was in the room on the other side of Agent Reid's. They think he tried to run out the back exit, but didn't make it in time." Morris announced to the two as he walked towards them solemnly. His face was filled with sadness and anger as he ran a hand raggedly through his short, greying hair.

Reid and Hotch glanced at each other, then gave their condolences to the senior officer.

"I'm sick of this psycho, we've got to put this to a stop before he goes any further, god forbid…" Morris said feverishly. Hotch and Reid nodded in agreement, but Reid's eyes had lingered to the ambulance to his right. He could see the back doors open still, Dani was laying on the stretcher, Emily sitting beside her on one side and a paramedic on the other. Reid tried to get a better look, but the other paramedic closed the doors, then jumped into the driver's seat. Emily gave Reid a smile through the small window, something in that smile told him it was going to be ok, but as the sirens turned on and the ambulance fled the scene, Reid forced himself to try and believe it.

"My men came up with no one in the surrounding area either. They're interviewing the witnesses right now." Morris explained, trying to distract himself from the grievances to focus on the case at hand.

"Reid, we're going to have to go over everything with you. This is obviously not going to be kept from the media, we've got JJ holding a brief conference with the reporters soon…" Hotch continued and Reid struggled to pay attention, but he wiped his hair from his eyes again, trying to keep his mind from the ambulance that had left minutes earlier.

………………………………………………………………….

"Hey Garcia." Morgan answered his phone as he stepped through the charcoaled wreckage beneath his feet. The sun was barely beginning to rise, but he was wide awake, helping search for any remains of the bomb to help them put a mark on the unsub.

"What, no coy greeting?" Garcia countered from the other line as she typed quickly on her keyboard.

"Sorry gorgeous, you know I love you, but I'm rifling through remains here. Our guy just bombed the motel Reid, Em and Dani were hiding out at." Morgan said fretfully as he kicked at a piece of a burned bed frame.

Garcia stopped typing immediately. "Are they… Are they ok?" She asked, holding her breath until her beloved co-worker replied.

"They're ok, Em just went with Dani to the hospital because her incision got torn open from the force of the blow. One of the officers who were staying here with them wasn't as fortunate though…" Morgan informed sadly.

"Oh my god…" Garcia breathed. "Well… I have a list going here, should I run it down to any who have taken known technical science courses? Do they know if he made the bomb himself or not?"

"Nope, I'll be lucky if I can find a piece of it in this mess. Send the list to the station, I'll be heading over there in a bit with Rossi. I'll call you in a bit, baby cakes." Morgan said before hanging up the phone, Garcia smiling on the other end at his departing words. The smile quickly disappeared after she pictures an exploding motel where members of her cherished team had been staying.

…………………………………………………………………………….

"Ok Hotch… I don't know if I agree with it… Yeah, that's true… Ok… I'll let her know…" Emily Prentiss quickly hung up her cell phone and shoved it back into her pocket. She closed her eyes briefly and rubbed her temples as she tried to process the words her superior had just spoke, wondering if it was the right action to take.

"Agent Prentiss?" A male voice sounded from behind her. She opened her eyes and spun around, giving Dr. Hunter a quick smile as he walked up to her.

"How is she?" Prentiss asked quickly.

"She's doing fine. We disinfected the area and got her re-stitched. There's no infection as of yet, but we'd like to watch her for a couple hours to ensure one doesn't start. She's a little bruised, but nothing too serious. Her arm is doing ok in the cast. She should be able to be discharged sometime this afternoon." Dr. Hunter explained. Prentiss thanked him before he departed back down the hallway to tend to more patients.

Emily stood outside the room Dani was recovering in, trying to compose herself before stepping in. She was still in her wet pyjamas, one of the nurses had brought her a towel to dry off with, but it didn't help the chill that ran through her body.

"Hey…" Prentiss greeted as she finally stepped inside the semi-private room. Dani smiled up at her grimly when she took a seat next to the bed.

"I'm thinking of getting my mail forwarded here…" Dani joked to break the ice, receiving a small laugh from Emily.

"I was just talking with Agent Hotchner," Emily began, but Dani's ears perked quickly and she interrupted.

"Is Spencer ok?" She asked quickly as a worried expression crossed her face.

Prentiss smiled softly, "He's fine. He's still at the… Motel, they're going to head over to the station soon. But Dani, we're worried about your safety in staying here, the unsub is getting agitated and he's shown what measures he's willing to take... Hotch made a suggestion and we're wondering how you feel about maybe going to stay with your aunt for a little while…"

Dani frowned at the idea and her mind tried to process the thought.

"Go to France…?" She asked tensely, the idea forcing a flow of emotions to tremble through her body.


	19. Suspicions and Doubts

**Ok, even I surprised myself with how fast this chapter spit out, but it's a good thing! Right?... Anyways, I had to write it out before it fled my mind. I hope you guys like it. Please let me know what you think!**

"I'm sick how this guy is always in front of us. He always knows where she is, how are we supposed to catch him if we don't get ahead of him?! We need to get something on this guy, I'm tired of all of this." Rossi threw the thin folder onto the table, then paced slowly in the boardroom of the station. "We hardly have anything on him, there's something we're missing…"

While Prentiss was with Dani in the hospital, the rest of the team met back at the station to go over the list Garcia had quickly faxed over. There were roughly 25 names of current and former professors in the estimated timeline the team had given Garcia to look into. Morgan and JJ had left quickly to start checking up on the names, hopefully finding something that will tip them off in the case. Hotch, Rossi and Reid remained in the boardroom to go over the entire case again in detail, in case they had missed something relevant.

"You're right, I'm sick of it too. I'm ready to close this case, we just need some more time." Hotch advised as he studied the information in the folder Rossi had tossed carelessly onto the table.

"More time?" Reid sputtered, nearly tipping the hot coffee over in his hand. "You saw what he did to the motel, who knows what he's more capable of doing with more time? Isn't there anything else we could be doing, I mean Dani's in the hospital right now, but where will she be safe if we don't catch this guy? He's got to be one of the people on these lists…" Reid grabbed another folder from the large table and began skimming over the pages quickly for the approximately the tenth time. "Why are we here, shouldn't we all split up to check these guys out?"

Hotch and Rossi studied Reid for a moment as he read the information sporadically, flipping page after page. They gave each other a look of concern before Hotch replied,

"Reid, you know the best action to take is not splitting everyone up. JJ and Morgan are going to these people as we speak, they know what they're doing. We should be going over the case, and Garcia is still running the information through the system." Hotch said slowly, with his regularly stern face.

Reid dropped the folder desperately on the table and looked up from the pages to look at his superior. "But I feel like we're wasting time. Has anyone heard from the hospital yet? Is Prentiss ok? Where is Dani going to go after she's discharged?" Reid fired the questions at him, trying to hide his concern on what was going on elsewhere.

"They're doing fine, JJ dropped some dry clothes off at the hospital before going with Morgan. Dani will be discharged sometime this afternoon, and as for her safety, I had made the suggestion that she go to France to spend some time with her Aunt while this case gets solved. It's obvious the unsub's not going to stop until he gets her or we stop him ourselves." Hotch explained as he took a seat in one of the chair surrounding the oval table.

"What?!" Reid struggled to cover his shock. "Ship her off to France?? How is that going to help her? What if the unsub follows her to the airport, then gets on a plane after her? Or the same plane? What if he blows up the plane and kills hundreds more? How is she going to be safe if she's leaving the protection of the team?"

Rossi raised his eyebrows slightly in amusement at Reid's small outburst of stammering and twitchy hand gestures. He gave a look at Hotch and nodded, announcing he was going to see if Detective Morris had come up with anything down the hall. He closed the door after him on his way out.

"Reid, we know what measures to take if she goes. We'll contact Foreign Affairs, they will monitor who gets on the plane and who gets off. There will be someone escorting Dani the whole way and Foreign Affairs will advise the bureau in Nice of the situation, heightening the security and task measures at the airport." Agent Hotchner reassured the details he knew Reid was already aware of. Something about the young genius' behaviour was suspicious and Hotch eyed him carefully before asking his next question.

"Reid, have you become unprofessionally involved in any way with our victim?" He asked incredulously. He knew Reid quite well, maybe not as well as some of the others on the team, but he knew that Reid wasn't exactly a Casanova. But he was required to ask the question, if anything ever came up that could affect a member of the team in performing in the field, he was responsible as Supervisor to ask.

"What?" Reid was caught off guard by the question and he couldn't stop his cheeks from reddening as his mind trailed to the events before the explosion. He was getting kissed, by a very pretty girl at that, and if he remembered correctly he had purposely forced the rules of the FBI out of his mind and had began to kiss her back. He had no idea what would have happened if the window hadn't broke, and there hadn't been a bomb suddenly in their presence. He felt his cheeks growing hotter as he thought about it and shook his head.

"N-No! No, I'm not… I'm just… I'm worried, that's all." He replied quickly, but avoided Hotch's eyes as he busied himself with the papers in front of him, trying to concentrate on the details of the people plastered all over the pages in hopes to find something useful.

………………………………………………………………………………….

"How's things going in here, kid?" Morgan joked as he walked into the boardroom. Startled, Reid glanced up from the papers he had been studying for the last two hours and gave Morgan a sarcastic look.

"Don't call me kid…" He muttered and drank the last bit of coffee remaining in his mug. Hotch and Rossi had left him alone to go over the details of the notes directed to Dani and the behaviour in victimology of the last victim. That had been almost two hours ago, Reid thought as he glanced at the round clock above the whiteboard. He raised his eyebrows in surprise after noticing it was almost 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and as if on cue his stomach grumbled reminding him he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

"Did you find out anything?" Reid asked hopefully as Morgan took a seat across the table from him.

Morgan shook his head, "Nah. JJ and I only got to talk to about five of the names on the list, and their alibis are all clamped solid. Hotch called and told us to come back because they were ordering food, and Em just got back with Dani. He wanted to have a meeting or something…" Morgan replied offhandedly as he rifled through the papers strewn about on the table.

Reid looked up from the folder in his lap distracted, "Really? Why aren't we hauling in these guys on the list for questioning? Shouldn't we bring them all in or something?" Reid frowned and wasn't sure he agreed with the way Hotch was handling things, even though he would never say it out loud. He just thought there was more they could be doing this time to hunt down the unsub.

The rest of Morgan's words finally passed through Reid's mind and he looked curiously out the open door of the boardroom. "Emily and Dani got back? When? Are they doing ok? Who's looking after Dani, is she even safe here?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow and looked above the paper he was holding up to glance at Reid. Reid realized his fierce questioning and Morgan's look and quickly averted his gaze, looking back at the papers in front of him.

"You ok?" Morgan asked. Even though he wasn't looking up, Reid could feel Morgan's suspicious stare.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Reid muttered hoping to hell that his cheeks weren't blushing again, not in front of Morgan. He would never hear the end of it if Morgan found out what had happened.

"Reid, what's going on between you two?" Morgan asked, when Reid looked up trying to force a confusing look on his face, he seen a hint of a smile in Morgan's eyes.

"What are you talking about?" He countered as he shifted a little in the hard chair, it suddenly had become very uncomfortable.

"You know what I'm talking about." Morgan shot back with a sly smile spreading across his face. "I can see what's going on between you two, you can't deny it. There's some sort of connection between you, don't tell me you haven't seen the way she looks at you sometimes?"

Reid frowned through his quickly reddening cheeks, but couldn't help the thoughts drifting into his head if Morgan was telling the truth. He didn't remember Dani ever looking at him in any special way before. But when he realized he hadn't said anything for a few seconds, he snapped back to reality.

"You're crazy." Was all he could think of to reply.

Morgan laughed, "Oh come on. You don't think any of us forgot about Lila Archer, do you? I don't know man, seems to me the damsels in distress are somehow attracted to our little genius here…"

Reid's eyes went wide at Morgan's reference, he hadn't thought about Lila Archer in years. She promised to have contacted him if she was ever close by, but she had never called. Reid had thought constantly about emailing her, or calling her up some time, but he had always brushed the thoughts away, claiming if she wanted to be in contact with him she would. It was probably the closest thing to a relationship he had had.

"Like I said, you're crazy." Reid said, but the pink hue in his cheeks as he stood up and muttered something about more coffee told Morgan otherwise. Reid quickly departed out of the boardroom, and Morgan's direct questions, blindly making his way down the hall to the small kitchen that held his beloved coffee.

After taking his time stirring in just the right amount of sugar and hanging back a bit to recuperate Morgan's light interrogation, Reid made his way back to the boardroom. He didn't feel like finding the rest of the team just yet, even though the thought of food was severely tempting. He needed time to straighten out his mind and get it back on track with the case so they could find the unsub once and for all.

He prayed Morgan had left the boardroom from boredom before he returned, but when he stepped into the small room he was surprised to see Dani sitting where Morgan had been when he left.

"Hey…!" Reid greeted with the surprise written on his face and sat in his chair across from Dani. He debated closing the door, but decided on leaving it opened because a closed door would lead Morgan to be more suspicious than he already was.

"Hey Spencer, how are ya?" Dani easily broke into a smile when he walked in. She didn't know how reliable Morgan was in telling her to wait there when she entered earlier. He gave up his chair for her and gave her a little wink before saying he had other places to be and had other things to do.

Reid smiled back a little nervously at the tired looking girl across from him. "I'm doing ok, but I should be asking you that question…"

Dani laughed softly, "I'm alright. Nothing some burning disinfectant and twelve new stitches couldn't fix."

Reid frowned and smiled simultaneously, at Dani's light humor mixed with the thought of pain.

"Anything new happen while I've been at the spa?" She kidded again while looking around at the dishevelled mess on the table. It was a little unnerving to walk into the room again that contained all the crime scene/victim photos on the wall, but she tried not to let it bother her.

"Well… We have a list of some possible suspects and we're in the process of interviewing them, but…" Reid wasn't sure what to tell her, but he became distracted as she yawned loudly. "Tired?" He asked, then rolled his eyes inwardly at the stupid question.

"A little. All these trips to the hospital can be exhausting… Is there any coffee left?" She wondered while pointing to his fresh, steaming mug.

"Oh.. Um, yeah, well I mean…" Reid stammered, but quickly picked up his mug and handed it to her. "You can have mine, I've already had like… I don't know a million cups since noon…"

Dani laughed and thanked him, gratefully accepted the hot mug of fresh coffee then tipped it towards her lips to take a small sip.

"Mmm… Geez Reid, I hope you're not a diabetic!" She cringed after tasting the overly sweetened beverage with raised eyebrows. The sugary taste tingled the sides of her tongue, but she sighed in satisfaction after the caffeine flavour finally sunk in to her taste buds.

"Sorry…" Reid apologized sheepishly. "I like a lot of sugar…"

"I can tell!" Dani replied after taking another tentative drink. "I've grown up on pretty much black coffee since I was 10. I guess it's a French thing…?"

Reid smile faltered slightly at her reference, the realization that she may be going far away hit him again.

As if reading his mind, Dani placed the porcelain mug carefully onto the table and studied it as she ran her finger around the edge.

"Speaking of France…" She said slowly. Reid swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, though this time he wasn't so sure it was from nerves.

"Emily and I talked about it… I was just speaking with Agent Hotchner as well, and we think it's the best thing… I've talked to my Aunt, she's been saying this all along, so she's obviously relieved. Agent Hotchner says he has a few things he has to put together first, but that I should be on a plane out soon." Dani explained quietly, Reid quickly noticing her light, joking mood had changed.

He nodded along slowly, not quite sure what to say. His mind was spinning with thoughts, but before he could talk with her any more about it, Morgan had stepped back into the room, advising them that the rest of the team was ready to eat and they were needed to go over procedure.


	20. Goodbyes

**I finally spit out this chapter, this one was a little difficult to write! I think there will only be about 1 or 2 chappies left in this one… Dun Dun Dunnnn…  
--Please review and tell me what you think!!**

"We've got her on a flight departing at 9:15pm, it's a small plane that only carries maximum 25 people and we've cleared the passengers who will be boarding the same flight." JJ spoke as her and Hotch walked down the hallway of the station. She handed him the papers detailing Dani's flight and turned into the main area of the headquarters.

"Detective Morris and a few of his men already took her to get some of her things from her apartment. She's already back and…" Hotch paused to look at his watch. It was already 7:30pm. "By the looks of it we should start heading out."

JJ nodded, "I've already contacted Foreign Affairs, they're well aware of the situation and will have people waiting on the other side for her. They also have people assigned to check everyone who gets off in Nice and an escort will be waiting for her at the airport to accompany her on the flight."

When they entered the main area of the station, a few members of the team were there along with Dani. She was standing a little nervously, leaning against one of the desks and talking to Prentiss. Prentiss was nodding her head to something Dani was saying, but neither Hotch nor JJ could make it out. Reid was leaning against the desk adjacent from Dani, watching her and Prentiss silently with his arms crossed over his chest. Morgan stood to her left and laughed suddenly at something she said, then ruffled her hair playfully, which received a slap from Dani.

"She doesn't seem too affected by this whole thing…" JJ murmured quietly to Hotch so the others wouldn't overhear.

Hotch nodded, keeping his face stern as he watched the group. "She's covering it up, I think. She seems to be a genuinely social person, but I think she's hiding her feelings regarding the case." Hotch thought out loud, keeping his voice down as JJ did.

JJ frowned as she watched the interaction between her colleagues and the girl who had recently entered their lives. "Really?" She questions Hotch's opinion outwardly.

Hotch nodded as he busied himself with the folders on the desk, his attention now on the files in front of him as he stood. "Profiling doesn't just help find criminals." Hotch replied and gave JJ a small smile before closing the folders and walking towards them.

"The plane leaves at 9:15, we should get going…" He advised the group. They all seemed to nod a little solemnly. Morgan smiled at Dani and gave her a gentle hug, demanding she call him when she landed and said something inaudible to the rest just before breaking the hug.

Dani smiled half-heartedly at him and gave his arm a quick squeeze.

"Promise to call when you get there." Rossi suddenly entered the front of the station from the boardroom to give his farewell to the young woman. Dani nodded and was unsure if she should hug him or shake his hand professionally, but before she had to decide, Detective Morris came barging through the front doors.

"We've got another body…" He said quickly, "North side of the city, found in a back alley. I just got the call."

The team looked at each other with wide eyes, which all eventually fell onto Hotch. He seemed to be thinking hard for a moment and finally looked from the Detective to his team members.

"Ok, Dave you take Morgan and JJ along with Detective Morris to the crime scene, Prentiss, Reid and I are going to make sure Dani gets on the plane safely then we'll meet up with you." He advised, receiving nods from Morgan, Rossi and JJ who began to grab their coats to follow the Detective.

"Are you sure she should still be getting on the plane?" Reid asked, trying to be nonchalant as he stood up straight and rubbed his lower back from leaning against the hard desk.

"Yes. As far as the profile says, if he just murdered this victim he's probably going for cover right now, he's most likely on the north side of the city still. It's the best time to avoid him following our trail if we go to the airport now." Hotch said and gave Reid and Prentiss a look which got them moving. Hotch grabbed Dani's one piece luggage for her and Reid took the carry on from the desk behind her as they made their way to the SUV waiting outside. Dani swallowed hard, another victim, another person murdered because of her. She only hoped they would find this man soon.

………………………………………………………………………………..

"So Dani, there will be a man named Chad Bedford who will be at the airport. He's from the Seattle division of the FBI and he will accompany you during the flight to Nice. From there, he'll introduce you to a couple Nice agents who will take you in for some questioning then accompany you to your Aunt's. They've all been briefed with the entire case, but will probably want to interview you themselves." Prentiss explained as she sat half turned in the passenger's seat to look back at Dani as Hotch drove. "They'll be checking everyone for the next few days at the airport, they've been advised to heighten the security there. We don't want you to worry, we're just taking the necessary precautions." She added with a small smile.

Dani tried to return the smile, but it faltered slightly. After Hotch and Prentiss briefed her on the procedures, the ride had become silent. Dani stared out the window to her left, her thoughts were still trying to wrap around the fact that there was another woman dead now, another woman Dani couldn't help feel guilty that she was the reason behind it. Her mind clouded vividly with the thoughts of this guy continuing to attack until he found her. What if they couldn't track him down? This guy could snap and begin to kill viciously, _like the women he murdered already wasn't vicious enough…_ Dani thought silently to herself.

She sighed out loud suddenly and her eyebrows flurried up in worry and concern, wondering if this was the right choice after all. She quickly became apprehensive about boarding this plane, even though she had ridden on planes multiple times, her heart began clambering at the thought now. _What if he follows me on… No, they said the cleared everyone… What if he's already there?? Wait, they said he just killed someone. Right. How could I forget… _Dani's mind thought sporadically, but stopped when she suddenly felt something brush against her hand. Her eyes flickered to the right and she seen Reid looking at her, then smiled softly. She relaxed at the smile, it said everything she needed to know right now. It was telling her not to worry and that everything would be alright. She smiled back quickly before he turned his gaze back out the window beside him to watch the landscape fly by. They would be at the airport soon.

Dani glanced down at the space between her and Spencer, his hand was moved over slightly from when he got her attention and was still grazing her hand a little. She inched her hand over and slipped it under his before returning her own eyes to the window on her left. She felt him hesitate for a moment and thought she seen him look at her out of the corner of her eye, then she felt him move his hand cautiously so he could hold hers a little better for comfort.

She couldn't see him blush all the way to his ears, or the fact that he purposely moved closer to the window to avoid Hotch's eyes in the rear view mirror. She didn't see him rest his elbow on the side of the door so he could rest his chin on his hand and she didn't see him playing nervously with his lip while they continued to drive. He just continued to gently cradle her hand in his while avoiding her eyes completely, too nervous to speak or retract his hand from hers. Dani couldn't help but smile.

……………………………………………………………………………

"Well, I guess that's me…" Dani announced without enthusiasm as the lady called out her flight over the loud speaker at the airport. They had been waiting for only half an hour, but the FBI agents with her had continuously kept an eye out for anyone suspicious the entire time.

"Ok, you remember what we said when you get there. Don't worry about anything Dani, we're doing everything to keep you safe. We'll find this guy." Agent Hotchner advised and gave a small smile to the young brunette.

Dani smiled back at him before wrapping her arms lightly around him for a hug, "Thank you. For everything." She said before pulling away and giving him another smile.

She turned to Prentiss next, who was looking a little somber, but smiled at her through it. Before saying anything, she embraced Dani in a tight hug and murmured something into her ear before pulling away.

"Promise you'll call me as soon as you land." Emily demanded as she kept her hands on Dani's shoulders. Dani smiled and promised profusely until Emily finally let her go.

She walked tentatively towards Spencer who was waiting a few feet away. He was studying a map of France on one of the many large boards that bordered a wall of the airport with his hands in his pockets.

"It's really nice there, you should come sometime." Dani startled him as she walked up beside him. He looked to his right and smiled down at her before bringing his eyes back to the map in front of them.

"I'd have to learn the language first…" He said half joking.

"Like I said Doctor, you practice and you'll do well." Dani smiled at him and he finally turned to face her just as the announcer called her flight number again.

Dani looked behind her to the boarding area and then back at Reid.

"Umm… Listen, if you ever need to talk… Or have any questions or… Um…" Spencer stammered as he brought out the business card from his pocket and held it in the air towards her. Dani smiled at his nervousness and looked up at him expectantly. "Uh, you can give me a call… Or, um, email me if… I mean, if you want to…"

Dani took the card from his hand and looked at it for a moment before putting it in the pocked of her jacket.

"I will, Spencer." She promised and wrapper her arms around his waist for a tight hug. He hesitated briefly, then wrapped his arms around her, squeezing lightly. He was a little uncertain at first, knowing Hotch and Prentiss were only a few feet away, but tried to force it out of his head and wrapped his arms tighter around her until the last boarding call was announced, making them pull apart.

"Don't worry, I promise we'll find him." Spencer reassured her as he looked her in the eyes.

"Dani Lereux?" A deep voice sounded suddenly from behind her. She spun around to see a tall, dirty blonde haired man looking to be in his mid forties. "Hi, I'm Chad Bedford, I'll be accompanying you for the flight." He flashed her his credentials and gave her a comforting smile.

She shook his hand and smiled back before turning back to Spencer. "Well I guess I've gotta go…" She said and looked up at him with slightly distraught eyes. He smiled briefly back at her and eyed the man behind her, then the boarding area.

"Um, here." Dani pulled a folded envelope from her jacket pocket and handed it to him. He looked at her with a confused expression on his face. "It's just something I… Just read it later." She said and waved to Prentiss and Hotch who were standing behind Reid.

"Goodbye Spencer." She said and hugged him one last time before turning around and walking away with the other Agent. He grabbed her luggage and pulled it behind them. Spencer watched as she handed her boarding pass off to the attendant and turned to wave at them one last time before disappearing down the corridor towards the plane.

Reid looked at the folded envelope in his hand and quickly shoved it into his back pocket as he turned to begin walking to the exits with his colleagues. He wasn't sure how he felt and he didn't think it would be wise to look too much into it at the moment, they had a case to solve.

Just as they walked out the exit doors into the parking lot, Hotch's cell phone rang loudly from his pocket.

"Hotchner." He answered as he pressed the unlock button for the SUV.

"Sir, it's Garcia. I think I just found something useful…" Garcia spoke quickly from the other end.


	21. Pathfinders and Photographs

**Sorry to make you guys wait, but this one is up! It ran a little longer than I planned, therefore there will probably be two more chapters. Thanks EVER so much for the reviews, and keep them coming! It makes me feel so loved. As always, please let me know what you think! Next one should be up tomorrow!**

"So this guy, Jared Foster, he was employed at the Central Community College from 1990 to 2002. He taught English Literature and get this, when he was in college he majored in English Lit, but he minored in Chemistry and Nuclear Physics. I thought those minors were quite the polar opposite from his major, and there's no known fact that he had studied Science, well I mean, opposed to his College transcripts, but! I dug a little deeper and I found that he 'dropped out' of the Chem classes because he nearly blew up the science lab… There's a whole article here rendering the entire incident, but he dropped out after that…" Garcia informed the rest of the team over speakerphone as they huddled together back in the boardroom of the station.

"Is there anything else strange on this guy?" Morgan wondered loudly, hoping the pieces were somehow finally coming together.

Garcia laughed smugly on the other end, "Well my handsome pet, I'm glad you asked. See, his position was terminated at the College in 2002, but after looking into it further and chasing myself in circles, I found out that he wasn't actually fired, he kind of quit. There's some small report on the possibility that he had a nervous breakdown or some other type of drastic change in his behaviour. He was suggested to leave, and he accepted it quickly, he packed up his things and walked out the same day."

"Do you know who the Dean or authority figure was at the college during his time there…?" Prentiss asked and Garcia's fingers typed quickly over the keyboards.

"Yup, it was… Catherine Kent. She retired two years ago and is still in Seattle. She's now 59 years of age." Garcia reported and quickly gave the address.

"This Jared Foster, when exactly did he quit his position at the College?" Hotch asked, getting back to their possible suspect. Garcia's fingers flew over her keyboards again as she spoke.

"It says here… June 7th." Suddenly Garcia gasped on the other end and she typed feverishly before continuing. "That's two days after Dani's mom's death. She was murdered on the Saturday, and Jared Foster walked out from his position from a mental disturbance the following Monday…"

The rest of the team looked at each other, "Is he still in Seattle?" Rossi demanded.

Fingers clicked on the other end, "Yes. 169th and 47th street."

The team was silent for a second before Reid spoke up, "That's only two blocks away from Dani's apartment building…" He said with wide eyes as the realization hit him that the unsub could have lived so close to her all this time.

"Oh my god." Garcia's tense voice hushed on the other end.

"What is it?" Hotch asked quickly as the rest of the team seemed to lean closer to the phone in the middle of the table. All they could hear was fingers typing madly until Garcia finally answered.

"Jared Foster, he was in a car accident a week after he left his job at the college, his shoulder was severely dislocated and his right arm was broken in three different places including fractures in four of his fingers. He had to have three surgeries over two years and had to attend Physiotherapy for two more years after that. He was on worker's compensation and after that was up he couldn't hold down a job, he's been on unemployment since…" She said hurriedly.

Hotch looked across the table to Rossi, then to the rest of the team. They all had the same semi-shocked expression on their faces.

"Thanks Garcia, we're going to go check him out. We'll keep you posted." Hotchner pressed the hang up button on the phone and looked to the rest of his team.

"I think we should get a move on. Advise Detective Morris, we're heading out in five."

…………………………………………………………………………………….

"Jared Foster, FBI! Open up!" Morgan shouted towards the chipped white paint on the front door of the older house. A few people went around back, while he, Hotchner and Prentiss surrounded the front entrance.

Prentiss tried to peek into the curtain covered window as she held her semi-automatic to the ground and tightened the strap on her bullet proof vest. When she looked back at Morgan and no one had answered the door, she nodded.

Morgan stepped back and with a swift, hard kick, opened the door and went inside, followed by the other members of his team.

"Clear!"

"Kitchen clear!"

"Hotch, no one's upstairs, I don't think anyone's home…" Morgan advised as him and Prentiss made their way down the old, carpeted stairs. Agent Hotchner frowned as he looked around the slightly cluttered living room, shuffling old magazines and newspapers around on the coffee table.

"I think you guys had better take a look at this…" The gruff voice of Detective Morris shouted from the stairwell that led to the basement. With a quick look to Hotchner, Morgan followed through the kitchen to the stairs leading to the basement.

Once they made it down, they seen Morris and a couple of his colleagues surrounding a large table, the only light coming from a low watt bulb swinging from the low ceiling.

"Shit…" Morgan cursed once he seen the set up on the wooden table. Beneath him he carefully tampered with the various wires and metal tubing, to the right stood a few different jars and viles filled with chemicals.

"He made the bomb himself. How could we not have caught that?" Morgan demanded, more to himself as he tossed one of the wires to the table in frustration.

"There weren't any parts left from the bomb, and by the smaller size of the explosion, it makes sense that he just crafted a quick makeshift bomb himself…" Reid spoke as he squeezed between Hotch and Morgan to survey the materials on the table.

"Thanks Reid, that's not helping us now though…" Morgan huffed and the team made their way back upstairs.

"There aren't any pictures, or anything of sentimental value in plain view…" Reid spoke as they studied the kitchen and living area of the main floor. "Did anyone check the bed-" He stopped suddenly and frowned into the drawer he had just pulled on the coffee table.

"What you got over there?" Morgan asked as he spun around from the very well-stocked bookshelf and made his way towards Reid, who looked up at him with wide, worried eyes and pulled out the drawer to set on top of the table.

"Son of a… Hotch!" Morgan called to his superior in the kitchen as Reid began laying out the pile of pictures and various newspaper articles contained in the small drawer. Hotch quickly walked over to them and studied the items being laid out.

"Is that…?" Hotchner began to question, but he already knew the answer. Looking from picture to picture, he saw a younger, dark haired girl being caught in candid photographs. In one, she was just coming out of a small café, coffee in hand. In another she was unlocking the front door to her apartment building. There were about twenty different photos of a younger Dani, and Reid caught a quick breath as he flipped one of them over.

The photo was of a younger girl, around 10, being led by the hand of a smiling dark haired teenager that the group instantly recognized as Dani. They were walking down a wide sidewalk, the sun brightly shining around them and in front of them was an older lady, turning to hurry them along. Her hair was just as dark as the younger girls.

"Is that Dani's sister…?" Morgan guessed as he took the picture from Reid to study it closer.

"Yeah, and I think the woman is… Was her mother…" Reid replied with a quiet tone as he rifled through the rest of the articles and photographs in front of him, trying to find something that would lead them to Jared Foster's whereabouts.

"It's all pictures of Dani and her family, there's a lot of Dani recently, in shops, jogging, grocery shopping…" Reid explained quickly as he flipped through them. "The newspaper articles are mostly from the death and suspicious murder of her mother, there's also a couple from when he 'quit' his position at the College…"

"Hotch." JJ interrupted as she and Prentiss quickly walked in from the open front door. "We spoke with the neighbours, they said they seen Jared leaving about 20 minutes ago. He had a large suitcase and drove off in his vehicle, driving south on 47th…"

"South?" Reid interrupted quickly as he stood up. "What if he's heading to the airport??"

Morgan was already on his cell phone, having dialled Garcia's direct line. She picked up after one ring.

"Choco-love, what is it I can perform for you?" She said with a smile, which Morgan could practically see over the phone.

"Hey sugar mama, listen, we need you to run Jared Foster's name, we need a vehicle make, year, license number. And by need, I mean need by half an hour ago…" He asked, but had already heard Garcia typing feverishly on the other end.

"You're looking for a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder, plate number 57D9AJ. Color is dark navy blue." She answered right away, pleasing her handsome coworker.

"Thanks baby girl, you're the best." He said as he repeated the information to Hotchner and the rest of his team.

"Well now, would you expect any less of me?" Garcia asked innocently.

"Hell no." Morgan confirmed quickly before hanging up, then turned to Hotch who had a more-than-normal serious expression on his face.

"JJ I want you to put the information up for the media, we need to find this guy before he flees the state or tries to board on a plane somewhere else. We know who we're looking for now, we just need to find him before it's too late." Hotchner advised, JJ quickly nodded in agreement and left the house to go back to the station.

"Should some of us split up and head to the airport now? We could get Garcia to run a track on the vehicle…" Prentiss suggested, but Reid quickly shook his head.

"Trackings will only work on vehicles that have a GPS system integrated in the console. The Pathfinder didn't come out with that until 1999, and even then it was an expensive extra to add to the make…" Reid advised, much to his teammates' disbelief.

"When did you learn so much about cars…?" Morgan accused, forcing Reid to frown in answer.

"I read a magazine on Nissan when I was waiting in the Dentists' office a couple months ago…" He mumbled, but couldn't get teased anymore because Detective Morris clambered up the stairs and looked at them, his face unreadable once he stopped amongst the FBI agents.

"I just got a call from the station, someone just reported an accident, the vehicle involved matches Fosters' description and someone else called in the same license number." He advised quickly, the cell phone still clutched in his right hand.

"Let's go." Hotch said quickly and the rest of the team followed him to their awaiting vehicles.


	22. Closed Cases & Missing Embraces

**A/N (Ashley's Note): Here we go, this is it! I managed to shove it all into one chapter. I hope it all sounds ok. I'd like to point out that the last part (beginning of the scene on the plane), the song Heroes by David Bowie should automatically be playing. I suggest opening another window and playing it on YouTube because that song inspired me when writing the end!  
-Please review!!  
-P.S. I forgot to mention in the last Chapter, I know nothing of Nissan or the Pathfinder, the information I supplied regarding GPS was completely made up and most likely untrue. I just had to point that out.**

"I was just walking my dog, and all of a sudden I see this vehicle driving… Oh god, at least 70 miles an hour. Came screaming down the road, the light was clearly red, but he just kept going. I don't even think he tapped the breaks! Then it just slowly started veering to the left and bam! Ran right into that parked car outside the café."

Prentiss nodded solemnly at the young blonde who was struggling to keep the Chocolate Lab under control at her feet. It was the same story they got from the ten other witnesses. Man driving car at extremely high speed doesn't stop at red light and crosses over to the wrong side of the road, crashing into the side of the parked car on the other side of the street.

"Did you see the man driving at all?" Prentiss asked, hoping someone could give a better description. So far no one had given a firm description of the driver, at least nothing that could have given him away as Jared Foster.

The blonde looked thoughtful for a moment, "Hmm.. I remember he was wearing dark sunglasses, his hair was either blonde or gray. It was hard to see, he was driving so fast." Prentiss nodded, somehow knowing what she was going to say.

"Ok, thanks for your help." She said and waved to the girl before she departed, pulling on the leash to motion the Lab to follow her.

"Ok, fire's out. There isn't much for remains inside of there, I'm a little surprised the whole car didn't explode. Must have punctured the gas tank or something, but this baby was in flames practically the moment it smashed into the other vehicle."

Prentiss overheard the fireman talking to agent Hotchner and Reid a few feet away from the scene of the crash. When the team had arrived, a fire truck and EMS was already there, the two vehicles were engulfed in violent flames which took them nearly 20 minutes to put out completely.

"Is there anything at all left of the… The body?" Reid asked tentatively as he peered over the fireman's shoulder to the charcoaled vision behind him. It was a little disappointing to arrive on scene to the whole thing ablaze. Reid couldn't deny the fact, he was hoping to see this man face to face. He wanted to know who had been stalking Dani, who killed her mother, and who had attacked her. He wanted to apprehend the unsub himself, to prove they could find the man who put Dani through so much grief and pain. He had made a promise to Dani that they would find this guy, and he couldn't brush off the feeling in the back of his mind that in some way he had failed. The unsub had found himself before they could.

"Not really, doubt they could even tell you if he died from the force of impact, or that he burned to death. The body's been completely incinerated, luckily there was no one else in the parked vehicle or they would have been the same. One passerby got a few bumps and bruises from jumping out of the way from the oncoming vehicle, but that's it." The fireman advised, sad of the casualty, but surprised and thankful that no one else had been injured.

"Thanks for your help." Hotchner shook the man's hand and walked towards the vehicle where two of Detective Morris' men were already investigating.

"Do you think he was heading to the airport…?" Reid asked Hotch, keeping his voice low. Hotchner shrugged his shoulders and looked at Reid, keeping his face serious as always.

"We can't really assume anything… It's going to be even harder now to put this case to a close. But at least we know Jared Foster was our unsub, so we can put it to rest." He advised as he pulled on the latex gloves, the same kind Reid was already wearing.

"Hotch! You might want to take a look at this…" Morgan's voice shouted from the other side of the burned vehicle. Hotchner walked over to him, Reid quickly following behind.

"Luggage tag… Looks to be quite an expensive one at that, must have been from his professing days." Morgan held up the bent piece of metal for the other two to see.

"Professor Jared Foster, 16904, 47th Street, Seattle WA, 459234." Reid read the inscribed metal tag, then looked up at Hotchner. "He had luggage with him. He could have been on his way to France…" He mumbled in disbelief, as an unsettling feeling washed over him at the fact he could have followed Dani all the way to Europe. All the way, where they couldn't have protected her.

"Well, he's obviously not going to be doing any more travelling now…" Morgan said as he motioned his arm to the blackened vehicle, and the unnerving disfigurement encased in the driver's seat.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"So genius, are you and our little _très belle mademoiselle_ going to keep in touch or what?" Morgan smiled slyly from across the booth where he and Reid were sitting. They were on the jet, on their way home. It had been a long, gruelling twenty four hours after finding the remains of Jared Foster. They had to go back to the station to close up their case with Detective Morris and speak to several other witnesses and people who knew Jared Foster, to get as many details on the man who had been their unsub. They had to go back to his house to bag the evidence of the photos and article found. When Reid had been back in the house, he studied the full bookshelf in the living room and shuddered when he seen all of the books on English and Foreign literature. Their profile had been dead on, yet they had taken so long to find him.

Reid's cheeks turned pink at Morgan's direct question, and in fear that his voice would squeak if he replied, he only shrugged. He tried to look busy as he studied and shuffled around the papers laid out on the table in front of them.

"Why don't you relax man? Take this time to rest or catch up on some sleep." Morgan changed the subject soon after seeing Reid's nervousness come through. He enjoyed teasing the young genius a lot, but even he could see the he was somewhat low spirited ever since they boarded Dani on the plane to France.

"I have reports and pages of evidence to go through before we can close the case." Reid mumbled in reply, but couldn't help but look up at his fellow colleagues randomly placed on the plane. Hotchner was in the back, sitting upright, but his head was lolled against the window beside him and his eyes were closed. Prentiss was across the aisle from him, sleeping in a slightly reclined position with a pillow behind her head. Rossi was sitting at a small table near the back, writing quietly with his back facing the front of the plane. JJ was fast asleep on the small couch across from Rossi.

"You know those reports don't have to be done right now." Morgan argued with his eyebrows slightly raised. "We have the whole week to do them."

Again, Reid only shrugged in reply. He was trying to make himself busy, he needed to keep himself distracted from the thoughts that were daring to enter his mind. Morgan watched his young teammate in slight concern, but more out of curiosity. He had noticed the way he acted in Dani's presence, he was more nervous than usual, but had also seemed more relaxed. Morgan couldn't deny the fact that he too adored the young woman who had entered their lives. She was so free spirited and social, even with having been attacked and possibly stalked. As far as she knew this man stalking her had only been a speculation, he wasn't sure if anyone should mention the pictures and articles they had found in his house, but they would cross that bridge if they ever came to it.

Morgan studied Reid's face as he pretended to read the page he was holding in front of him. When his eyes glanced up to Morgan quickly, he frowned and looked back down to the reports on the table.

"Why are you looking at me like that…?" Reid accused as he flipped the page over and continued on to the next one. He hadn't paid any attention to the words written on them, he couldn't even remember what the reports were about because he stopped actually reading them about ten minutes ago.

Morgan chuckled softly as he continued to look at him in suspicion. "I just can't help but wonder what happened when you two were left alone. I mean, I could tell you were all flustered around her, and hey man, I don't blame you. She was quite the hottie, but I'm having a hard time figuring out if she ever put the moves on you. She seemed quite insistent on always being by the side of our big, bad, heroic genius here."

Reid tried to force his face not to blush any harder at Morgan's accusation, but he had to admit he thought about the same thing a million times. Dani had told him she felt safe when she was with him, and he wasn't sure why. He wanted to ask her again, but had been too nervous to bring it up.

"You're crazy." Was all Reid could reply as he kept his eyes zoned in on the paper in front of him. He was too afraid to look up from it, to see Morgan's suspicious stare. He wished Morgan would leave him alone, he wasn't sure how much more teasing he could take. He was used to Morgan's offhand comments or accusations, and his sexual innuendos, and the fact that he always tried to say something when it came to him and females. But right now, Reid just wished he would drop it and leave him alone to get lost in his own thoughts.

"Alright, alright…" Morgan laughed as he held his hands up in surrender. "I can take a hint. But don't think you're getting off that easily, I know something happened, and I will find out." With that Morgan slid out of the booth and stretched his aching muscles. "Now I, I am going to go catch some Z's. You should do the same, the case is over Reid, you can rest now…" He ended with a serious note and walked towards the back of the plane to take the reclining seat next to Emily.

Reid watched as Morgan sat and grabbed the headphones from the side of the chair and pulled them over his head. His eyes immediately closed as he reclined the large, white chair and Reid finally dropped the folder he had been holding. After a few minutes of just sitting there, he reached into his back pocket for the item he had been trying to ignore, yet was so eager to read for the last 24 hours.

Pulling out the slightly crumpled envelope, he unfolded it in front of him and smiled slightly at the fact that the name written on the front said '_DR. REID'_.

He looked up at his fellow colleagues again, who were all in the same position as seconds ago. He bit his lip nervously as he tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter contained inside. He unfolded the lined paper and relaxed into a more comfortable position as he brought a fist up to rest his chin on as he read. The environment of the plane surrounding him seemed to drift as he lost himself in the stylish, black handwriting.

_Dear Spencer,_

_So, I'm sitting here in this god-awful uncomfortable hospital bed "recovering" from my fresh stitches and disinfectant. How can they expect someone to recover from anything in a bed that is almost as comfortable as a cement bench? It's all a mystery to me… I swear, I almost want to get into the hospital industry, just so I can go on the board and make Laz-E-Boys and waterbeds mandatory in all hospitals._

Reid smiled at Dani's words, oddly glad that she wrote in the same style she spoke in.

_Anyways, so I just finished speaking with Emily, and she thinks I should go back to Nice. She said Agent Hotchner suggested it, and he firmly believes it would be my safest option in this whole ordeal. I have to admit, I'm a little scared at the thought. I don't want to leave, I feel safe here, with you guys. I don't know how I'm going to stay sane without you, Spencer. I wish I could pack you in my suitcase and take you with me, but I would probably get arrested for it. You know, smuggling an FBI agent overseas is probably frowned upon…_

Reid's smiled widened again at her humour. He quickly glanced up to make sure the rest of the team was still sleeping and not staring at him. When the coast was clear, he continued reading.

_I want to thank you. I doubt I will be able to say this to you in person before I go, but you're a wonderful person Spencer. When I said you made me feel safe, I wasn't lying. I know what you're thinking, and you have to stop doubting yourself so much. I can't pinpoint it exactly, whether it's your aura or your brain, or whatever, but you make me feel safe when I'm around you. So stop second guessing yourself and accept it. You make an exceptional FBI agent, if other people that you guys help feel as safe as I did with you, then you are doing your job tremendously. Be proud of yourself, Spence!_

Reid frowned in slight confusion at the nickname she openly used. She hadn't called him Spence in person, the only person who had ever called him that was JJ. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, but it was strangely comforting.

_Well, Emily says someone is going to come pick us up soon so we could gather some things from my apartment. It's kind of weird, thinking of going back there after everything that has happened. I'm not sure what's going to happen to it, but I won't be able to live at that place anymore. I'll have to figure it out later though, after this whole thing has settled.  
You should come out to Nice sometime, it's beautiful there and I promise, if you ever come visit I'll make it worth your while! _

Reid instantly blushed as his eyes flew over this comment, and darkened in color even more as he reread it. He quickly looked up to ensure no one was watching before taking a breath and slapping himself mentally, before continuing to read.

_Meaning I'll show you around, pervert. I know you're blushing right now, I just hope Morgan isn't around to see it or else I'm sure I'll never hear from you again. Anyways, I should end this or else I would be sitting here forever just writing away. I'm sorry if I babbled at all, it seems to be something I do quite often. _

_I'm really going to miss you Spencer, please tell me you're going to stay in touch. I've included my email, my cell AND my Aunt's address, so there is absolutely no excuse why you couldn't. I don't know how long I'm going to stay with my Aunt for, I guess it all depends on what happens with this case… If you're ever around, or if I'm ever back… Just promise me you'll write, or call or do something. I don't know what I would do if I lost contact with my Hero._

_Stay cool Dr. Reid. And in the words of Tom Petty:  
You and I will meet again,  
When we're least expecting it.  
One day in some far off place,  
I will recognize your face.  
I won't say goodbye, my friend,  
For you and I will meet again._

_-Dani._

**A/N (Ashley's Note!): Ok. I wanted to end it with the letter. Mainly because Part 2 will mainly be written communication between Spencer and Dani and others as well. Hopefully Part 2 will be started soon and you all can let me know what you think! Thanks so much for ALL who reviewed and kept me plowing through this story. Reviews are a great force to drive people to write even more. Watch for Part 2! Never fear, for there will be more!  
-A**


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